Perfect Strangers
by Jamillia
Summary: Two lovers are in the middle of a divorce. Another two are in the middle of a painful situation. What will result when one member of each couple meet each other? BxE. --READ THIS STORY ON TWILIGHT-IS-LOVEE'S PROFILE. I'M QUITTING. SHE GETS ALL CREDIT!
1. Prologue

_**Perfect Strangers**_

**_- Prologue_**

**Summary****: Two lovers are in the middle of a divorce. Another two are in the middle of a painful situation. What will result when one member of each couple meet each other?**

**Disclaime****r****: We are extremely disappointed to have to admit to the fact that we do not own Twilight.**

**AN****: So this is the story that we, Twilight-is-Lovee and Jamillia, keep blabbing on about! We hope you like it. This is just the Prologue. The chapters will be longer! :) Also, if you didn't know already, this story is a collaboration. Authors: Jamillia and Twilight-is-Lovee. We would absolutely love you if you reviewed this story on both of our profiles.**

**BPOV**

"No, stop. Please, you're—you're hurting me. Stop!" I tried to push him off me, but he wouldn't budge.

"No, Love. You've been very naughty lately. I love you, I truly do, but your actions are not going to be tolerated. You know that," he whispered menacingly in my ear, slurring his words. I shuddered. He was drunk again. He was _always_ drunk.

"But—But, I don't even know what I did!"

"Remember when I told you I wanted to spend the day with you today?"

I nodded slowly.

"You didn't take time off from work. You went anyway. You could've done your stupid editing at home, but _no_! You said it's better to work from your office. Your office my foot! You are _never_ to disobey me again, got me?"

I nodded again. I was too afraid to do anything else. I'd been meaning to break things off with him for a while now, but I was afraid of the consequences.

Furthermore, I didn't want him to take out his anger on my three-year old brother. Not only would he hit me, he would hit Jason as well. In fact, all the pain would likely increase exponentially.

I didn't know what to do about the situation. I couldn't help it. I felt like a fish trapped by a shark. I had no way of escape.

I had no way of escaping from the horror that was Jacob Black.

**EPOV**

"Tanya," I growled. "You need to take more responsibility for your actions. You could've lost our baby girl. This is the third time this has happened!"

"But Eddie," she whined.

"Do. Not. Call. Me. Eddie."

"Fine," she huffed. "But Edward, she's three. She's old enough to know not to walk away from her mother."

"I don't blame her for walking away from her mother," I whispered underneath my breath, too soft for her to here. "This is not to happen again. You're the adult. You need to keep an eye on her."

"Gah, Edward! You know it happens all the time. People are always losing track of their kids. It's normal. Plus, I can't help it. I don't want a daughter, and I'm not going to make the effort to keep track of something I don't want. She was a mistake. I knew I should've gotten an abortion!"

"What. Did. You. Say?! Did you say you wanted to get rid of _our_ daughter?!" I was pissed. I was furious. I was fuming. How could she say something like that?

"Yes, I did, and I still do. Can't we put her up for adoption?" She batted her eyelashes a few times in an effort to look sexy. She knew it helped calm me down and get me into the bed.

"_No!_" I roared. Tanya looked taken-aback. I'd never refused her anything. Then again, she had never voiced the idea of abandoning Anna before.

"What!? Are you crazy? We're not old enough to be parents!"

"Are _you_ crazy, Tanya? We had a baby, now we're going to keep her. I love her with all my heart. And if you don't feel the same, feel free to leave."

Tanya simply harrumphed and walked up the stairs to, I'm assuming, our bedroom. Her hips swayed a bit and I rolled my eyes at the obvious attempt to get me to bed. It wouldn't work. Not now, not anymore.

"By the way," I called after her, "We're both over 25 years old!"

**So, what do you think? Remember, the faster you review, the faster we update! :)**

**Considering how many of you should have gotten an author alert, Twilight-is-Lovee and Jamillia are expecting at least 10 reviews!!**


	2. This is my life By Bella Swan

_**Perfect Strangers**_

– _**Chapter 1: This is my life. By Bella Swan**_

**Disclaimer****: We are extremely disappointed to have to admit to the fact that we do not own Twilight.**

**AN****: So this is the story that we, Twilight-is-Lovee and Jamillia, keep blabbing on about! We hope you like it. Also, if you didn't know already, this story is a collaboration. Authors: Jamillia and Twilight-is-Lovee. We would absolutely love you if you reviewed this story on both of our profiles.**

**BPOV**

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

I hit the grey button on top of the clock, effectively ending the annoying, blaring of the alarm – for another ten minutes.

It was 7:30 and I had to get up and dressed to take Jason to preschool.

Slowly, just in case the beating last night was real and not dreamt, I moved my leg towards the edge of the bed.

"Ouch," I muttered under my breath. It was real.

I paused for a quick rest to gain back what little strength remained and then began again, inching myself off the bed. My legs, butt, back, and arms were sore, and a sharp, searing pain ran through my body.

Once my feet had found the floor, one great burst of strength got me sitting upright, and another had me standing. I swayed for a second and fell back onto the bed with a painful plop. I couldn't even feel my legs underneath me. This was going to be a long day.

Next to me, a huge, snoring lump was fast asleep. Jacob was likely suffering from a hangover. _Good!_ He deserved it. Curse that stupid 'pack' of his and their parties. This—and more—happened every time they got together. I sighed.

Painfully, I managed to get up after a few tries, and walked into the bathroom. When I flicked the lights on, I had to squint. After a long, dreadful night, the last thing I wanted was to wake up to bright lights.

After a minute of waiting for my eyes to adjust, I looked clearly into the mirror. My entire body sported various shades of red and blue. Bruises covered my arms, chest, stomach, and legs. Turning around, I saw even more marks on my back. The location of each spinal vertebrate was visible based on the purple bruise. There were also small rips and tears along the edges of my underwear, revealing bright red, burning marks – the result of Jacob's rough spanks. Unfortunately, I was all too used to this by now.

To cover up the marks, I pulled on some long blue jeans and a long sleeve, crew neck, red blouse. I slipped on a pair of red flats and applied a light coat of base to cover up some of the bruises on my face.

Every movement hurt.

With one last look in the mirror, I sighed and walked back out into the room. There was no way to make myself look better than this.

As I walked out the bedroom door, a light snoring from down the hall matched that of Jacob's behind me. A brief smile flicked across my face at the irony of our little 'family.' Despite all I was being put through, perhaps the three of us belonged with each other.

I went to wake-up Jason. Being the three-year old he is, little effort was required to get him out of bed. The hardest part of the morning was actually getting him dressed. He was running around the room as I slowly got a green t-shirt and dark blue jeans.

Once he was ready for school, we walked to the kitchen and I prepared a bowl of cereal for his breakfast. When I was done, he greedily situated himself and began eating. I grabbed a Quaker Oats granola bar and went to sit on the couch in the living room.

I looked around for the TV controller, wanting to hear something in order to take my mind off my own problems. Thankfully, it was on the table just in front of me, so I didn't have to move too much.

I pressed the power button and the channel 5 news came on. As the reporters went on about a model named Tanya and her husband, I munched on my granola bar.

"Last night, model Tanya Cullen was seen out to dinner with her husband, Dr. Edward Cullen, in Seattle. Sources say the couple ended their evening with an argument. The topic was not heard. Their daughter…"

The report went on for another few minutes, but I ignored it. Occasionally a word or two such as "Edward Cullen," "Forks," and "Anna" would register. Obviously, I had heard of "Forks" before – I lived in the city… but I couldn't place where the names came from.

Several minutes later, Jason came running through the doorway. He crawled onto the couch and sat next to me.

"Are you ready for school?"

He nodded his head enthusiastically and I picked him up, rolling my eyes at his excitement. I hated work. At least today was my day off.

I carried him to the car and buckled him in. He was bouncing in his seat, and I thought he might just explode. He certainly did like Forks Pre-K.

When we got there, he leapt out of the car before I had a chance to come around and unbuckle him. He bounced inside and I followed a short distance behind. At the doorway, I signed him in and watched as he ran off. He was probably going to… that girl. What was her name? Amy – I think. It was Amy. Maybe . . . Annie? Huh. Who knows?

I turned to leave once I was sure he was situated. He really enjoyed his life. Too bad I didn't have the same happiness.

With much effort, I pushed away the unpleasant thoughts until I could be in a safer place. If Jason came out and saw me crying, I wouldn't know what to say. Therefore, without a moment hesitation, I was in the car, driving off to the nearest coffee shop – which happened to be The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. My favorite.

I walked into warm shop and ordered myself a Chai Latte with a lemon bar. **(Jamillia's favorite!) **The items were prepared within minutes and I went to sit down at a single table up against the window in a corner of the restaurant. Here was my place. Here I could think about my life. Here, as I stared at the window at nothing in particular – watching as the beginning raindrops, which were all too common here in Forks, rolled down the window.

I was born to Charlie and Reneé twenty-five years ago. They were kind parents – and good ones even though they were both in their early twenties. He was a policeman and she was a stay-at-home mom. They both loved me and cared for me. I was loved.

When I was only three, they had another child – Jasper. He was a nice brother – kind of quiet, but a smart kid all the same. Because he was always so ahead of his class, at the age of 21, he had already graduated law school. **(I dunno if it is possible to get 10 years of education in 3, but it is possible to take college classes in high school, so I just figured he'd do a lot of those and APs.) **His dirty blonde hair stood out considering the rest of us had chocolate brown hair. But he was my brother – and was not adopted.

Emmett was born just two years later, when I was five. He grew up to be a big, strong football player. Even though he was the youngest, Jasper and I didn't pick on him or anything. The age difference was so little, it hardly mattered. Plus, our maturity level was greater than that of others – including Emmett. He was always the clown of the family, goofing off and such. We loved him.

We were a very close family throughout the years. The five of us lived comfortably and happily. Sure, I was a klutz and Jasper and Emmett were inhumanly graceful, but we were always one, big, happy family.

Just three years ago, Charlie and Reneé decided they wanted another child since we had all grown up and gone through school. Jason was the result. He was my super young brother, and he was cute. His dirty blonde hair made him look a lot like Jasper. I couldn't help but love him – especially since I was easily old enough to be his mom.

Unfortunately, Reneé had died during the birth. Her age had ended up causing some difficulties, though Jason came out perfectly healthy. Charlie was heartbroken and ended up dying of a heart attack when Jason was approximately six months old. From then on, I really was his mom. I took care of him and loved him. He eventually even started calling me 'Mom.'

Then a twenty-six year old Jacob came into the picture. I met him when I was out shopping one day and he acted very nice. I managed to find a babysitter for Jason one night, and Jacob and I went out. He was nice and cute. Jacob made me feel safe and happy. His large body reminded me of Emmett who had always been the one to make me feel better. Plus, Jason deserved some kind of fatherly figure in his life. I assumed Jacob would be a good one. After all, he certainly was the man I had been looking for.

After a few months of dating, Jacob moved in and we had begun a very different relationship. No longer did we have romantic dinners, but we had nightly beatings. With a steady income, Jacob had begun going to parties and getting drunk. Of course, I never spoke up. He was still the loving Jacob no matter what happened.

Jasper and Emmett knew about Jason and Jacob, but had no clue about my nights. I couldn't tell them. What would they think? What would they do? Therefore, I kept it concealed. It was my secret and no body needed to know. I could handle whatever came my way. After all, Jason couldn't be left alone like once before.

By the time Jason was one, both of my other brothers had found love. Jasper married a pixie-like girl named Alice, and Emmett was engaged to an angel named Rosalie. I was stuck in a house with my youngest brother and a freeloader, getting beat at least once a week.

Rosalie was an only-child, but Alice had a brother who was married off. I had never met him, or his wife, and both were rarely talked about – not that I was talking with them much. Occasionally somebody would host a little family gathering and I would tag along, but Alice's brother never came. He was always busy with work.

In the few discussions he was mentioned, I had found out he was a doctor, just like Carlisle, his father. Carlisle's wife, Esme, was a housewife. They were both very friendly and open, and had offered to take Jason for a few days, multiple times. I always declined. I didn't want to impose on people I hardly knew. But they persisted and acted as my second parents.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed in my pocket. The vibration startled me and I almost fell out of my seat. Wouldn't that have been a show for the other customers? I could see the phrase 'Klutzy Bella falls again!' all over newspapers. I shook that thought out of my head.

I got out the phone and checked to see what message I had this time. It was a reminder to pick up Jason.

I rushed out of the store and over to Forks Pre-K. Jason was outside in the now clearer weather, playing around in the sand by himself. Amy, Annie—whatever her name was—must have been picked up already. That certainly was fast. I was only five minutes late.

"How was school today, Jason?"

"Good!" he said, getting up. "I played with Anna, again." Oh, so that was her name.

Apparently, she was three years old as well and enjoyed many of the games he did. They never had a play date, but it sounded like they had more than enough fun at school. Anna had become his best friend even though she was a girl. I suppose the ignorance of youth allowed for more enjoyment.

We got in the car and drove back home. Jason sat on the couch with a box of crackers and watched one of the 'Bob the Builder' movies I had bought for him.

I walked to my room and saw a lump underneath the covers where Jacob had been this morning. I guess he was still asleep from what was sure to be a painful hangover – or so I assume after last night's beating.

"Jacob," I whispered, shaking the lump a bit. "It's time to get up." I pulled back the covers to help and found a bunch of pillows instead of the person I expected.

Suddenly, a strong arm wrapped around my stomach and pulled me onto the bed. I struggled a bit but did not gain any ground. The pain in my abdomen was growing quickly and tears formed in my eyes. I knew what was coming next, but I wasn't quite ready for it.

"Where were you today? It was your day off. Why didn't you come home, love?" a rough voice growled in my ear.

He had been drinking again and I could smell the liquor fill the air around me. It was suffocating, but I was used to it after years of being with Jacob.

"Well?" The grip around my stomach tightened, causing even more pain, and another hand came up to pull at my hair. The pain was excruciating and it took all my will not to scream out and frighten Jason.

"I was shopping."

That answer seemed to please him and I was thrown down onto the bed. Relief flooded my body as Jacob's iron grip was removed, but a throbbing continued in its place.

Not seconds later did the spanking begin. I tried to block it out and buried my face in a pillow to muffle my cries. Eventually, the pain overtook me and I fell into a peaceful oblivion. The day had not ended well.

**Perhaps we could get to 15 reviews??**

**(Twilight-is-Lovee cried at the end. Did anyone else cry like the emotional author did?)**


	3. This is my life By Edward Cullen

_**Perfect Strangers**_

– _**Chapter 2: This is my life. By Edward Cullen**_

**Disclaimer****: We are extremely disappointed to have to admit to the fact that we do not own Twilight.**

**AN****: This is Edward's life, guys! Hope you like! Also, if you didn't know already, this story is a collaboration. Authors: Jamillia and Twilight-is-Lovee. We would absolutely love you if you reviewed this story on both of our profiles.**

**EPOV**

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! _Ugh._ BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

I absolutely loathed the alarm clock. Every morning it would go off at the same time. It was the most annoying part of my day, aside from dealing with Tanya, my wife, of course. I tried to hit the snooze button, but instead ended up hitting the clock so hard it fell on the floor and broke. Sigh. I'd have to get a new one that day. Whatever.

I got out of bed grudgingly and tried to fix the side I—uncomfortably—slept on. I looked at the bed and saw Tanya snoring peacefully. How I wished it wasn't Tanya on that bed. How I wished it were someone I loved. Someone whom I didn't marry simply because I had to. Another sigh.

I went into the restroom and looked at myself in the mirror. How I wish it wasn't Tanya commenting about my 'yummy shoulders,' as she likes to call them. **(AN: That's righttttt! He wishes it were we! Haha, this is totally an insider between Jamillia and me.)**

Gah, is it just me, or was I completely starting to sound really whiny? Sigh. And I sighed a lot too . . .   I stepped out of my boxers, since that's all I slept in at night, and jumped in the shower. My shower only lasted around ten minutes. I usually took extremely long showers, but I guess I just wasn't up to it this morning.

I lazily got dressed in a button-up blue shirt and black pants. I also put on my socks and shoes. I was slightly hungry, but decided to take Anna out for breakfast today. I went upstairs to wake up my 3-year-old daughter. It was never a big hassle in waking her up. She wasn't as whiny as her mother was.

As I woke her up, I thought about her features. She didn't really look like Tanya at all. She had my weird bronze-colored hair, my green eyes, and my lips and nose. I couldn't see a hint of Tanya in her. I hoped her personality would also be unlike her mother's.

She was up in less than two minutes. I got her bathed and dressed in her favorite pink long-sleeved T-shirt with dark blue jeans.

We went out to the car and she asked, "Daddy?"

"Yes, Sweetie?"

"I'm hungwy." She still couldn't pronounce all her words right; I thought it was adorable.

"I know, love. Where would you like to eat?"

"McDonald's!" she squealed while jumping up and down on her seat and clapping her hands.

I nodded and took her through the drive-thru of her favorite fast food restaurant.

"Daddy, I want a schawbewwy mwilkshake, two hash bowns, and a chwicken bwiscuit!" **(Twilight-is-Lovee's favorite breakfast from McDonald's! Btw, it's strawberry milkshake, two hash browns, and a chicken biscuit. The spelling errors were made on purpose; she's still a kid so she doesn't pronounce everything properly.)**

My daughter had a really big appetite for her age. I didn't get myself anything; I was planning to have coffee from Starbucks this morning.

By the time we reached her school, she had already eaten all of her food, and was bouncing in her seat. I hope it wasn't because of that boy she's always talking about. I know they were just children, but she's my little girl!

I dropped her off in her classroom and she skipped over to her friends after giving me a kiss. I stayed there a while and watched her. A few minutes later, a boy ran over to her and sat down next to her. Anna squealed. That was definitely the boy she was crazy about.

I shook my head and walked over to my beloved Volvo. I drove to the nearest Starbucks and went inside. I ordered my favorite: a Grande Caramel Frappuccino and a Toffee Almond Bar **(Twilight-is-Lovee's obsessions from Starbucks!)**. It didn't take them long to make it since there wasn't a big rush around this time. I paid and sat down on a table next to a window at the farthest corner of the coffee shop. I began thinking about how my life ended up this way . . . 

_**Flashback!**_

My name is Edward Cullen. Twenty-six years ago in Forks, Washington, on a rainy night on the 20th of June, I was born to Esme and Carlisle Cullen. I was spoiled rotten, meaning I got everything I wanted, but luckily, I was a perfect child. My mom taught me how to be a gentleman, you see. I always got the best grades in my class and I never went through any of those weird phases most kids suffer. I've never made below a B in any class. Not even in college. I've always played sports, but I have a passion for music. The piano especially. I compose my own music from time-to-time. I also received pretty good genes in the looks department. I had a head full of messy bronze hair, which girls seem to love, for a reason I will never fathom, and I have emerald green eyes that girls apparently 'swoon' over. I was voted Prom King, while Tanya was Prom Queen, but that part comes in later.

My sister, on the other hand, is the complete opposite of me. She was born four years after me, surprisingly on the same day. She, however, was born on a sunny morning, while I, like I said, was born on a rainy night. Sunny days are uncommon in Forks; as are people like Alice. Alice is always bubbly and hyperactive, and she's a shopping addict. If she's having a bad day, all you have to do to cheer her up is take her shopping. She _did_ go through, in her words, 'funky' phases in her life, though. Her first was the 'I Love Dinos' phase. She was three when that happened. All of her belongings were dinosaur related. Anything that wasn't was thrown out. The phase started after my parents let her watch Jurassic Park. I still don't understand how that movie made her love dinosaurs. Her next phase was the 'I Love Barbie' phase. Everything she owned was Barbie related; the dinosaurs forgotten. My parents had to get her a new everything. The 'I love . . .' phases went on until she was around ten. At that point, her room was transformed to all pink and that's how it remained for . . . ever! She did once go through an 'I Hate My Parents' phase when she was 13. In that phase, our parents had to take away her credit cards because the market crashed for a while. She's still mad at them for that. Then, when we moved, she got a smaller room than I did, so she went through an 'I Hate My Brother' phase. That ended soon, though. Wow, now that I think about it, Alice went through a lot of phases in her life. A lot more than I can even remember. But now, she's thankfully the happy, perky, hyper, loving, lovable, yet annoying little sister that every guy wishes he had!

She was a pest to me all throughout school, though. However, after I moved to college, we became closer than ever. She was one of my best friends. In school years, I never had trouble with anything—it was one of the things Alice teased me about; she called me a nerd, even though she got great grades herself. I had the highest scores in the school, and was most athletic. Every girl was after me, but I never showed interest in any one of her. Until Tanya came along. Tanya Denali was the most beautiful girl in the school. I was in my junior year (so was she), she'd just moved from Alaska, and every guy wanted her. She showed special interest in me, though. One day, she came up to me in the school cafeteria and asked me out.

I wasn't an idiot, so I obviously accepted. I took her to an Italian restaurant in Port Angeles for our first date. She was amazing and we hit it off well. We were inseparable since then. We were high school sweethearts. As I said earlier, we won Senior Prom King and Queen. That's what we were known as for the rest of our high school lives (which wasn't more than some mere months). After we graduated, we went to the same school, much to my father's dismay. Carlisle wanted me to go to Yale, like he did and his father and his grandfather and his great-grandfather. Nevertheless, I ended up following Tanya to Yale's rival school, Harvard. **(AN: I'm not sure if Harvard and Yale are rival schools, but it fits.)**

I honestly did want to go to Yale, not Harvard, but Tanya refused to go with me. She demanded to go to Harvard; and what Tanya wants, Tanya gets. Harvard was where I met Jasper. He was a few years younger than I was, but it didn't really matter. We soon became best friends. He came over to my house one Christmas, because his family was going on a cruise and he didn't want to join them. That's when it happened.

My baby sister fell in love. Jasper and Alice dated with no breakups for a long time. Soon enough, when I was 24, Jasper proposed. They've been married for a year now.

Anyway, when I was 22, and had just entered med school (I had somehow made it so that my 10-year education of medicine was transformed into 3), and I got the surprise of my life – Tanya was pregnant. I mean, we'd only done it once, and we had used protection!

I got over the shock, and slowly fell in love with the baby and out of love with Tanya. 9 months later, the miracle was born. I named her Anna. I had suspicions Tanya didn't want anything to do with Anna, but that wasn't going to faze me. I took care of our daughter. I did everything for her. She was my angel.

Soon, when Anna was around 3 months old, I proposed to Tanya. I rather had to, no matter how much I didn't want to. She was the mother of my child, and as much as I wish it were not true, my daughter needed her mother. Of course, as soon as Tanya and I were man and wife, she showed how little she cared for our baby. She lost her three times in three years; thankfully we found her every time. I was frustrated, though. I kept thinking about getting a divorce, but I never did anything about it.

That brings us to present day. I was still frustrated with Tanya, and I still wanted out. Maybe today would be the day I'd do something about it. But I doubted it.

_**Flashback Over!**_

I was brought back to reality by a strange beeping. I realized it was my phone, and I flipped it open. _Crap!_ I thought. It was time to pick up Anna.

I trashed the cup of my now empty frappuccino and the paper bag that held the crumbs of my now eaten Toffee Almond Bar. I rushed to my car and sped to Forks Pre-K. My daughter was waiting for me when I got there. She stood with her male friend, talking excitedly to him.

"Bye, Jasie!" I heard her yell when she saw me. She ran over to me and jumped in my arms. She turned around to give a quick wave to the boy before she entered the car.

"So, Anna, who's Jasie?" I asked.

"Jasie is my _bwest _fwiend!" she squealed.

"Just friends, right?" I knew I shouldn't have been asking her those questions, but I couldn't resist.

"Of course, Daddy! What else wouw we be?" Aah, the innocence of youth. I missed it.

"Nothing, Sweetheart, nothing." She accepted my answer and started coloring in her princess coloring book.

I dropped her off at her day care and drove to work. Back to another day of _life_.

**AN: Whatchaa think? Lol. It took me (Twilight-is-Lovee) forever to write this ('cause Jamillia wrote the last chapter and made me do this one). Well, only like 3 days, but I couldn't concentrate. Humph, anyway, review? It'd make Jamillia and Twilight-is-Lovee happy! And if you review . . . You get to be our bestest friend! :D Hahaha. That's me talking like a three-year-old! :D**

**Review goal: Get us to 25 reviews on each person's page? It doesn't take long to review! Just type 'hi' for all we care! :)**


	4. Emergency Room

_**Perfect Strangers**_

– _**Chapter 3: Emergency Room**_

**Disclaimer: We are extremely disappointed to have to admit to the fact that we do not own Twilight.**

**AN: If you know Jamillia, you know she loves to research stuff. Yeah… the beginning was written on a napkin in the middle of a restaurant while she was out to lunch. So, research didn't happen this time. Hope you still like it. Also, if you didn't know already, this story is a collaboration. Authors: Jamillia and Twilight-is-Lovee. We would absolutely love you if you reviewed this story on both of our profiles.**

**JasonPOV**

Mommy needed to drive faster. Today, Anna and I were planning on building a sand castle. So we needed to get started early.

**BPOV**

"Mommy! Mommy! Wake-up!" Jason shook me awake.

I groaned at the interruption to my peaceful sleep.

"It's time for school!"

Couldn't school wait? He could miss a day, right?

"Let's go!"

Why was he so excited?

He jumped off the bed and dragged me along. Immediately, a piercing pain wracked my body and I felt like throwing up. It was like a big hole had formed right in the middle of me. Jason ran out the room, likely to eat breakfast while I got ready.

With a speed so slow, a snail would beat me, **(A/N: Some turtles really are fast.)** I got dressed in an oversized 'Eeyore' shirt and grey sweats.

"C'mon, Jason, let's go." I managed to walk out the room even though every movement, even breathing, hurt me internally. How would I get through the day?

He leapt up from the couch where he was eating corn flakes from the box and watching cartoons.

We walked out the door, hand in hand, him dragging me along.

Every step hurt. Every breath hurt. Every thing hurt beyond reason.

However, Jason was insistent on going to school. Afterwards, I was definitely going to need a trip to the emergency room. I hoped that I would be able to avoid bringing Jacob into this, though.

"Mommy, drive faster," Jason insisted after just the first block.

I was driving just over 15 mph. For one thing, I was always a careful driver and hated speeding. Plus, if there were a problem, I'd want to be able to react in time. And right now, that was going to be the problem.

"I can't sweetie," I choked out. The trip to the emergency room was quickly becoming a painful requirement.

Thankfully, my lame excuse was satisfactory enough, and Jason was quiet for the rest of the trip – excluding the squeak the seat made every time he bounced in it.

When we arrived at school, Jason leapt out of the car in excitement, not taking a glance back to see if I was following.

I stood there and watched him for a while. No one but him was here yet, so I didn't really want to leave him all alone. I doubted even teachers were here.

Soon, I saw a little girl with bronze hair running up to him. I was sure that was his gal pal.

I figured they'd be safe enough together, and people were starting to arrive, anyhow, so I started walking towards my car. As soon as I reached it, I remembered I had to tell Jason I might be late to pick him up. Of course I wouldn't tell him it was because I would be going to the hospital, but he needed to know I wouldn't be there in time so he wouldn't worry.

I started walking toward him, but my klutziness made me bump into someone. Someone muscular. I was about to fall thanks to the collision, but the masculine man caught me around the waist before I fell. I looked up at him and saw the most beautiful man I'd ever seen in my life. He had a head full of messy, beautiful, sexy, yummy—I should stop with the adjectives now—bronze hair, and the deepest green eyes I'd ever seen. They were filled with concern. Suddenly, I realized that he could harm me. Just like Jacob did. I bet my face showed my worry and fear because his eyebrows scrunched up a bit—an action I doubt he noticed. I was still gazing at him when he started talking.

"Are you okay?" I blushed—one of my many bad qualities.

"Um, yeah. Sorry about that. I'm a klutz. I was in a rush to go tell Jason, my—sort of—son something that I forgot to tell him earlier. It's really important and he needs to know. Of course, I have totally forgotten what it was I had to tell him. What with the fall and—" I was blabbering, and he could tell. I knew 'cause he put his index finger on my lips to shut me up. His touch sent tingles through my body. It was the most perfect feeling—one I'd never felt before. I was sure he felt it as well since his face showed a lot and a lot of shock. I blushed again.

"It's okay," he said in a voice that sounded like music to my ears. He flashed me a crooked smile, and I couldn't help but mentally swoon over him. Is it just me, or did I sound like an idiotic fool? "I'm Edward. Edward Cullen." He offered me his hand, and I shook it, the touch sending more electric sparks through my veins. I blushed again.

"Isabella Swan. But call me Bella."

"I love that name. It's a perfect name for you." I blushed yet again. I knew what he'd meant, but I didn't believe him. My name means beautiful. By his statement, he means to say I'm beautiful. But . . . I don't understand why he said it. He was probably just trying to be nice. I'm not pretty at all. Jacob just likes me because of my body—that has never been fully revealed to him. I was still a virgin and proud of it. I wasn't planning on giving up my virginity to anyone I didn't truly love. And I didn't truly love Jacob—not anymore.

"Thank you. I like your name too. You never meet many Edwards these days." I'd had a thing for Edwards ever since I started reading classics. There were a lot of heroes in them named Edward.

"Yeah, I like the uniqueness of it. I wouldn't be so happy if I had a common name such as . . . Tyler . . . or something." I had to laugh at that. "What?"

"I know a Tyler. He used to practically stalk me in high school." He laughed this time.

"Wow. I had a girl named Lauren stalk me in high school. I bet they'd make the perfect pair."

"I agree." He smiled. Crap. I suddenly remembered Jacob and thought about what'd happen if he found out I was talking to Edward . . . "Well, I must go now," I said hurriedly.

"Oh, okay. I'll . . . talk to you soon?" He placed it like a question, a look of rejection passing through his eyes. I couldn't resist him—I just couldn't.

"Um . . . Sure," I said with a nervous smile.

I left soon after, heading immediately to the hospital. I was stuck in traffic though. My thoughts drifted to Edward, and I knew I'd have to do something about Jacob—and soon.

I was thinking of the different ways I could break up with him and the only possible result of it when something happened. I puked blood all over the passenger seat. Fuck.

I'd always hated blood. I felt queasy whenever I was around it. I was used to the hospital smell, though, since I'd been there a lot in my childhood—being a klutz, you have to get used to it.

Thankfully, the traffic light turned green and I drove—as fast as I could—to the hospital. I practically ran inside and told the receptionist what happened. She got me a nurse in less than two minutes, and the nurse, Jessica, raced to get me a room.

I was given water and some ice, and the nurse told me to wait.

"Hold on," I said as Jessica was walking out the door. She turned to look at me. "What's the rice for?"

"Oh, the rice sticks inside your stomach. We need you to eat it so that you don't get malnutritioned." I nodded, and she left, saying she had to find the doctor.

I waited on the hospital bed for a few minutes until the doctor entered. His lithe but muscular figure topped with bronze hair was breathtaking. I was completely shocked as to who it was.

"Edward?" I asked, my voice disbelieving.

"Bella?!" he exclaimed in the same voice.

**EPOV**

I woke up with a strange feeling in my stomach. Almost as if something good was going to happen today. I shrugged it off; there was no way anything good could happen in the shit-hole life I had going on.

I looked to my right and I saw my—sigh—wife asleep, snoring lightly. I was still extremely angry with her for the things she did and wanted to do to our daughter. Thank goodness, she was still asleep. If she wasn't, I don't know if I would've been able to stop myself from picking a fight with her again.

I just ignored her sleeping form, made my side of the bed, and went to take a shower. This shower was quite long, and, thankfully, very stress relieving.

I got dressed leisurely, seeing as I had a long time until I needed to be at the hospital, and Anna wasn't due to school for another hour and a half.

When I was done getting dressed, I went to my daughter's room and shook her softly.

"Anna? Anna, honey? You need to wake up, sweetie. You want to go see Jasie at school don't you?" I hated using her male friend to wake her up, but she needed something that would make her look forward to waking up and leaving the peaceful oblivion of sleep.

"Jasie?" she asked groggily.

"Yes, love, you can see him if you wake up and get dressed!" She jumped out of bed and ran to her bathroom. I chuckled and followed her. I soon had her bathed, dressed, and ready to go. "What would you like for breakfast today, Sweetheart?"

"Ummm . . ." she pretended to think about it, tapping her index finger on her chin. I already knew what her answer was, though. "PANKCAKES!" Yep, that's what she wants every morning I didn't take her out for breakfast.

"Sure." I was surprisingly a good cook. I made her favorites--pancakes with maple syrup, whipped cream, and strawberries on top.

"YUMMY!" she exclaimed, sloppily chewing down all her food.

"I'm glad you like it. Are you ready to go?" I asked when she was done eating.

"Yep," she said, popping the 'p.' I nodded and picked her up. I ran her to the door while holding her in a Superman pose. She squealed the entire time. "Daddddyyyyyy!" she yelled when I put her in her car seat.

"Yes, Princess?"

"You forgot to buckle me up," she whined. My eyebrows scrunched up and I noticed I indeed hadn't put her seatbelts on.

"Sorry, Baby."

"S'okay. But I. Am. Not. A. Baby!" she pouted.

"You'll always be my baby, Baby." She harrumphed, but gave up otherwise. I smiled and kissed her forehead.

I drove to her school, driving 80mph. I was known for my speeding. However, I'd never gotten a ticket in my life.

We reached her school early, so I took her to play on the swings in the playground of Forks Pre-K.

"Daddy, there's Jasie!!" Anna exclaimed, pointing at the boy who was on the Monkey Bars.

"Oh, well, why don't you go play with him then?" I tried to make my voice cheerful, but I don't think I fooled her.

"Bye, Daddy!" she yelled, running off to meet her 'best friend.' Why weren't things still as easy as they were in Pre-K?

"Bye, Princess." I waved at her and she waved back, blowing me an air kiss. I chuckled. I watched her run off, her shoulder-length, bronze hair swaying in the wind. I turned around and started walking off to my car.

Everything happened so fast. One moment, I was walking to my car, and the next I was being bumped into by someone. I caught the person before he or she fell, and looked down. It was a girl. The most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. She had long, chocolate-brown hair and the same color eyes. Eyes that looked frantic and afraid. Almost as if she was worried I would hurt her. I helped her stand straight and when I was sure she wouldn't fall, I started a conversation.

"Are you okay?" She blushed.

"Um, yeah. Sorry about that. I'm a klutz. I was in a rush to go tell Jason, my—sort of—son something that I forgot to tell him earlier. It's really important and he needs to know. Of course, I have totally forgotten what it was I had to tell him. What with the fall and—" She was blabbering, so I cut her off by putting my index finger on her lips. The contact sent tingles throughout my body—almost like a shock. I'm sure she felt it too because her eyes went wider than they already were and she blushed that gorgeous blush again.

"It's okay," I said with a lopsided smile. "I'm Edward. Edward Cullen." I offered her my hand, and she shook it. I felt that same electric spark again, and apparently, so did she because she blushed again.

"Isabella Swan. But call me Bella."

"I love that name. It's a perfect name for you." She blushed, obviously knowing that her name, Bella, means beautiful.

"Thank you. I like your name too. You never meet many Edwards these days."

"Yeah, I like the uniqueness of it. I wouldn't be so happy if I had a common name such as . . . Tyler . . . or something." Bella let out a laugh. "What?"

"I know a Tyler. He used to practically stalk me in high school." It was my turn to laugh this time.

"Wow. I had a girl named Lauren stalk me in high school. I bet they'd make the perfect pair."

"I agree." I smiled. "Well, I must go now," she said in a rush, as if she'd just remembered something.

"Oh, okay. I'll . . . talk to you soon?" I placed it like a question.

"Um . . . Sure," she said with a nervous smile. I didn't worry too much about it. As long as she'd see me again, I'd be happy.

Now I just had to deal with Tanya before I could do anything with Bella.

I left soon after Bella did, whistling quietly to myself the entire car ride to the hospital. I guess the good feeling I was having earlier was about Bella. I smiled at that.

When I got to the hospital, I greeted everyone happily. I could tell they were surprised.

"Good morning, Edward," Carlisle, my father, said.

"Morning, Dad!" I smiled.

"How're things with the family?" There goes my happy-go-lucky mood.

"Fine." I didn't mean it, but I didn't want Carlisle to worry.

I went to my office, thinking about Bella again. I hadn't spoken to her for more than 30 minutes, but I was already completely enamored by her. I was still daydreaming about that beauty when a nurse named Jessica came in.

"Dr. Cullen, we need you. There's an emergency." Sigh.

"Coming, Jessica." I walked out with Jessica, and followed her to a room. I opened the door and was shocked to see who was lying on the bed, looking much too pale.

"Edward?" she asked, her voice disbelieving. I gulped. She looked beautiful, even when sick. I found my voice, and spoke in the same voice she'd used.

"Bella?!"

**AN: So what do you think, guys? Please review. Especially since this chapter was SUPER long!**

**Also, Jamilla and Twilight-is-Lovee have a poll up on our profiles. Please vote; we'd love your opinion. It relates to this story, by the way.**

**Review goal: Get us to 50 reviews on both of our profiles? Thanks!! :D Love ya!**


	5. The Appointment

_**Perfect Strangers**_

– _**Chapter 4: The Appointment**_

**Disclaimer: We are extremely disappointed to have to admit to the fact that we do not own Twilight.**

**AN: Okay, guys. So we're starting to put dates on the chapter. Like Monday, October . . . Or whatever. So, to clear it up:**

**The Epilogue was Sunday, September 28th, 2008.**

**Chapter 1 and 2 were Thursday, October 2nd, 2008.**

**Chapter 3 (and 4 – current chapter) was/is Friday, October 3rd, 2008.**

**Also, Twilight-is-Lovee is going to give a reward to the 50th, 100th, 150th, 200th (and so on) reviewer. . . .The reviewer can pick the reward, but it has to be something within my limits. Lol. So nothing like: Buy me a shirt or something. Nothing like that, okay? Something like 'Can I get a sneak peak of the next chapter?' or 'Can you mention me in the Author's Note on the next chapter.' This reward will stop if I don't get the regular amounts of reviews for each chapter. Because if I see that people have stopped reviewing, this reward will also stop. Okay?**

**And Jamillia is not going to present a reward to anyone. It's just Twilight-is-Lovee. Jamillia's being a meanie. She says she doesn't do rewards. Haha. If you have any questions about anything, PM Twilight-is-Lovee.**

**Twilight-is-Lovee's 50th reviewer was Darbella121.**

**Sorry for the long AN.**

**Without further ado, here's Chapter 4, The Appointment:**

_**Friday, October 3rd, 2008.**_

**EPOV**

"Bella?!"

"Edward? You—You're a doctor?" Bella asked in shock. I chuckled.

"Yes, I am. And today, I'm your doctor." She blushed. Only then did I realize the innuendo in that statement. My eyes widened and I looked down at my feet in embarrassment. "I—I didn't mean it like that."

"I know," Bella said with a giggle. I suddenly felt as if I were in high school again.

"Okay, so let's get this show on the road." Bella laughed. "Why don't you start with telling me what's wrong?"

"Well, since Jason woke me up this morning, I've been feeling horrible. It's a terrible pain in my abdomen that won't leave. And then, after I dropped Jason off at Forks Pre-K, and bumped into you, I was coming here to get a check-up and find out what's wrong . . . But on the way, I sort of threw up blood on the passenger seat."

My eyes widened. The symptoms she told me about were of internal bleeding. Could it be, though?

"Oh, also, I've been feeling dizzy all morning."

Yep, definitely internal bleeding.

"Alright, Bella. Why don't you stand up and try to walk for me? That way we can determine what exactly is going on in there," I said with a pat on her stomach. She giggled slightly when I touched there. "Ticklish, are we?" She nodded.

I smiled and moved out of the way. Slowly, she edged herself off the bed and began to walk. Only two steps later, she collapsed. Thankfully, I managed to catch her before she suffered any more damage.

"Nurse!" I called frantically. Here was an angel lying unconscious in my arms. Suddenly, years of medical school knowledge flew out the window.

Jessica came running in, showing off her body as much as possible, completely oblivious to the beautiful person who was clearly not as responsive as she should be. "Yes?" Jessica purred.

"Help me get Bella onto the bed," I said as calmly as I could. It bothered me how much the nurses could be uncaring towards the patients when I was in the room.

I stood up and placed Bella on the bed, elevating her legs using the pillows Jessica handed me. She was so worthless.

"You can go now." I waved my hand dismissively, not giving Jessica a single look. I could imagine her huffing and stalking out of the room.

"It's okay, Bella. I'm here." I stroked her hair lightly and lied down on the bed next to her. There wasn't much to do but wait. "You're beautiful, and you'll be fine."

I sighed. This would probably be the only time I could really see her and talk to her – here, in this hospital room, as she lay unconscious. "I love you, Bella." I was shocked by the truth in my own words. Did I really love Bella? Already? I mean, I barely knew her. But somehow, it felt as if I'd know her my entire life. _Wow, way to be cheesy, Edward._

I waited for a few seconds, holding my breath, but there was no response. I began humming the lullaby my mom used to hum to me at night, continuing to stroke her hair.

She looked so beautiful. Like an angel sent from heaven. Her gorgeous, chocolate eyes matched her soft hair. Along with her delicate, pink lips and her pale skin, she was more beautiful than anyone in the world. If only I could stay with her forever.

My hand left her hair and slid down her cheek, neck, and along her arm, feeling the tender flesh. What a magnificent human being. So sweet and kind.

I went further, running my hand along the shirt that covered her abdomen. Here, the skin seemed swollen and softer than the rest of her body.

Carefully, I lifted the shirt and found a large, purple mark covering her stomach. She was bruised. This only confirmed my suspicions.

A few seconds later, she stirred. I straightened up and moved my hand away from her body, replacing the shirt. I didn't want to freak her out or anything of the sort.

"Bella? Are you alright?" That was a silly think to ask. Of course, she wasn't all right. She'd just woken up after fainting.

"Whe-Where am I?" she asked groggily.

"You're in the hospital, Love." _Love?_ I bet I really freaked her out with that one.

Her eyes widened and she looked at me with surprise clear on her face. Slowly, though, she smiled, and it felt like I was going to burst with joy. If only her smile could do that, her laugh would do wonders.

"Oh, that's right. So… Um, did you ever figure out what's wrong with me?"

I nodded. "I think you have internal bleeding." Her eyes widened even further and she clutched her stomach. "Don't worry, it's not too serious."

She sighed and relaxed a bit. "How do we cure it?"

"Well, there is not too much I can do. Just rest and relax for a bit. We'll move you to a room in the main hospital and you should be able to check out tonight. When you do go home, though, I would be careful. Your stomach might not be able to handle too much work."

There went her relaxed state. Her eyes widened again and she clutched her abdomen tighter. "How- how do you know?"

_Oops!_ She didn't tell me that part. "I… uhm… saw… when you fainted." An awkward silence fell over the room and I felt like something, anything, needed to be said right now. "I should check your blood pressure."

She held out her left arm tentatively and I pushed her sleeve aside. More bruises were revealed, but I pretended not to notice as I wrapped the black cuff around her upper arm. I waited for the beep of the machine to tell me her blood pressure was recorded. Then I pulled the fabric off and checked the screen. It said 87 mmHg systolic and 63 mmHg diastolic. That was quite low. I frowned. An angel shouldn't have a blood pressure such as this.

"Jessica!" I called out. In a few moments, the nurse was in.

"Yes, Edward?" she asked while batting her lashes at me. Bella looked like she was trying to suppress giggles.

"Go get a wheelchair for Bella, please. We're going to transfer her to room 77." Jessica grimaced at my obvious annoyance of her, and went to get the wheelchair.

She returned soon, and I helped Bella onto the chair. We wheeled her to her room, and I held her hand the whole time, as a way of comfort. At least, that's what I told myself. I knew it was because of something more. I knew it was because I couldn't just watch her be wheeled away and do nothing.

On the way to her room, another nurse, Angela, interrupted me.

"Dr. Cullen?" she asked shyly. She was one of the few polite nurses at Forks Hospital.

"Yes, Angela? And I've told you to call me Edward. Dr. Cullen's my grandfather." She smiled. **(AN: Okay, so Carlisle is Edward's father. And I guessed that he wouldn't wanna go by Dr. Cullen, either. Since he looks so young and everything . . .)**

"Carlisle would like your help with something in his office." I nodded.

"Bella, my father's calling me. I'll check up on your later, if that's alright?" Bella smiled and nodded.

As I walked towards Carlisle's office, I realized that Bella was the one for me. She was the one I'd spend forever with. I couldn't fathom how I knew this without knowing her for even over a day. But I knew it. I had a gut feeling about it. And I wasn't going to let Bella escape me. No matter what.

The feelings I had for Bella were ones I'd never felt before. Not even for Tanya. These feelings were completely new, and I didn't want to get rid of them. I wanted to cherish them. I wanted to cherish them with Bella. I wanted—no, I needed Bella. Bella was _the one._

Tanya, however, was to be dealt with. She had to be gone. I needed to get rid of her. I needed to cut things off with her before it was too late.

**And now . . . It's time for . . . BELLA'S POINT OF VIEW!!**

**BPOV**

As soon as Edward left to go to Carlisle's office, Jessica sneered at me and continued pushing me to my room.

When I was in there, she rolled her eyes at me, and said, "I'm sure you won't need help getting in the bed, would you, Bella?" Then, without waiting for my response, she left. Very abruptly.

I rolled myself to the edge of the bed, and tried climbing onto it. I failed a few times, but eventually did manage to get on.

I lay there for a while, thinking about absolutely nothing.

Then, I realized that Jason would be stuck at Forks Pre-K for an exceedingly long time. I hoped one of his friends' parents would be late as well. But I doubted anyone would be as late as I.

My thoughts drifted off to Jacob. My boyfriend. The boyfriend who beats me. What was I to do about that?

I wanted to break it off with him. Especially now that I'd met Edward. It felt as though Edward was _the one_. Not Jacob. Edward. It felt as if I would readily spend all eternity with Edward. I didn't know him for over a day, but what I did know was that I loved him. It seemed impossible, but it truly wasn't. I'd never felt like this about anyone before. This was completely new, and it was completely amazing. I was truly in love.

This meant one thing. I had to leave Jacob. And soon. No matter what the consequences.

**Dun. Dun. DUNNNNN! Hahahaha. :)**

**Jamillia was getting frustrated with her lack of knowledge and ended up doing some research on internal bleeding. After two websites, she was bouncing around the room singing. She was happy that last chapter fit with what information she could find. So rest assured our writing is as accurate as possible.**

**Also, we hope you like all our names for stuff. "Forks Pre-K," "Forks Hospital," and "Jason…" which is a funny story. We spent an entire two hours one afternoon searching for just the right name. We swear, we went through HUNDREDS until we decided on "Jason." Good times, good times.**

**Anyways, we think we could get to 65 reviews on both of our profiles. So press that button and type something, even if it's just "UPDATE SOON!"**

**By the way, Twilight-is-Lovee currently has 54 reviews. Jamillia has 44! Twilight-is-Lovee's winning. So review Jamillia's FIRST (and more)!!**


	6. The Aftermath

_**Perfect Strangers**_

_**- Chapter 5: The Aftermath**_

**Disclaimer: We are extremely disappointed to have to admit to the fact that we do not own Twilight.**

**AN: Sorry guys, but this chapter isn't as long as our others, but we think you'll like it. :) Also, sorry about not having it up yesterday. We were planning on it, but school keeps us busy. But today's better than never, right? Haha. But of course, we would never quit this story. We love writing it. :) And if anyone's confused on the name, ask about it in a review, and we'll get back to you.**

_**Friday, October 3rd, 2008.**_

**BPOV**

I was in the hospital for a while. Edward had come in to check at me a few times. It was awkward because of my epiphany. I loved Edward. There was no denying it, but the fact I loved him didn't change the very good probability that he doesn't feel the same about me.

Around five, Jessica stalked in, saying I could leave. I was overjoyed with this news. This meant I could go pick up Jase and I didn't have to stay in the hospital anymore. I hated hospitals mainly because of the sick people smell and the blood. Yuck. I'd gotten used to hospitals due to my tons of visits to them, but a part of me still felt very queasy about it.

I ignored the disgusted stenches and slowly walked out. I didn't want to walk to fast because I was worried I'd throw up again. I hadn't thrown up for the past three hours, and I wanted my non-puking time to last a while longer at least.

Anyway, I trudged out of Room 77, and before leaving the hospital, I tried to look around to see if I could see Edward. I wanted to thank him, but he was nowhere to be seen. I sighed and gave up on my sneaky search for him.

When I'd reached the parking lot, I looked around to see if I could spot his Volvo. I'd seen him in it earlier that day when we were leaving the pre-k.

_Gah, I feel like a stalker. _I shuddered. It wasn't cold, but my thoughts really were starting to creep me out.

I got into my new Chevy. It was a birthday present from my brothers. They were getting tired of seeing my ancient truck. I chuckled a little at the memory.

On the way to Forks Pre-K, my thoughts kept wandering off to different places. Only to land on the man that looked better than Adonis himself.

Edward Cullen was a man like no other. He had the perfect hair. It was soft, bronze, and somehow always ended up in his eyes. His hair reminded me of sex hair. But Edward could pull it off. Hell, I bet he'd be able to pull of rags! No joke. But, anyway, back to his features. . . I'd be able to live my entire life if all I did was run my hands through his hair. Mmmmm.

His eyes! Oh god, his eyes. They were the deepest, most amazing eyes I'd ever looked into. They were an Emerald shade of green. Better than Emeralds themselves.

His lips were so kissable and pink. I would kiss him all day and all night without getting tired. His smile was the prettiest I'd seen in my entire life. I loved his crooked smile best. It would make me swoon like a love struck teenager.

He had these pearly white teeth that were shinier than a star.

And his body! He had a better body than Jacob. And let me tell ya, Jacob had a pretty good body. Edward's body was perfectly sculpted. If I could see it that well while he was wearing clothes, I'd like to know how hot he'd look without any clothes on . . . But I didn't want to go there. Because there was no possibility . . .

Sigh.

Oh, and, I forgot to mention his hands! He had these strangely cold hand . . . But they were soft nonetheless. I wanted those hands to feel me everywhere... To rub with the gentle precision he had demonstrated today. To knead and send those amazing sparks flying through my body. But, yet again, there was no possibility of it happening.

Sigh. How I wish, how I wish.

Before I knew it, I had reached the pre-school. I shook my head to clear it of the impossible daydreams, and jogged over to the playground, hoping Jase would be there. Jogging was a bad idea, however, because I started feeling a bit dizzy. Only then did I remember I had internal bleeding. Edward distracted me. I snorted. More like I thought about Edward and that distracted me, but hey, it was still Edward. So it counts, right?

I yelled out, "Jase?!"

"Mommy!" I heard him squeal.

"Where are you?"

"Over here!" he yelled and skipped over with a girl beside him.

"Sorry about being late, hon."

"S'okay, Mommy." I smiled.

"Who's your friend, sweetheart?"

"This is Annie! But only I can call her that. You call her Anna," he said, jumping up and down. I smiled at Anna, and got down on my knees so that she didn't have to look up to have to see me.

"Hello, Anna."

"Hi," she said, smiling and waving shyly. She was adorable.

"Where's your Mommy, sweetie?" She shrugged.

"I don't know. But Daddy is right there," she said, pointing to someone behind me. I scrunched up my eyebrows and stood up. I spun around, effectively bumping into the stranger behind me. I started falling backwards, but the stranger with oddly familiar arms caught me around the waist. I looked up and saw _him_.

"Edward?!" I asked breathlessly, astonishment no doubt clear on my face.

"Hey, Bella," he replied coolly. "Funny we bumped – literally – into each other twice in the same day."

I chuckled. "Yeah, well, that's what you get for becoming acquainted with a klutz."

He laughed this time. "I suppose. So, how are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess. Fast movement makes me slightly dizzy, but other than that, I'm good."

"That's great progress," he said thoughtfully.

"So, Anna's your . . . ?"

"Daughter. And I'm guessing Jason is your son?"

"Well, I guess. Technically, he's my brother. It's a long story."

"Why don't you explain it to me?" he suggested.

"I'd love to, but I have to go . . ." I said, sadness creeping into my voice. I wanted to nothing more than to sit with him for hours and tell him _everything._

"Oh." He sounded truly disappointed.

"Yeah." I trailed my foot back and forth in an arc on the ground.

"Uh, Bella?" he asked nervously. I felt like a teenager again. It seemed as if Edward was bringing out the inner seventeen-year-old in me.

"Yes, Edward?" My voice held the same amount of nervousness.

"W-would you like to go out to Starbucks with me tomorrow morning?" I looked at him with wide eyes, shocked into silence. "Um, just as friends," he clarified, his voice sounding as if he wished it weren't true. Well, I wished it weren't true, too. I was started to sound childish, but I didn't really care. I wished Edward and I were the only two people on this Earth. What a wonderful life that would be . . .

I was brought out of my fantasies when I heard Edward clear his throat. "Oh, um, right," I said, clearing my throat as well. "Yes, I'd love to go to Starbucks with you tomorrow morning." A wide grin spread across his face.

"Awesome. So, I'll see you tomorrow at . . . 10 am? At the only Starbucks this town has?"

I giggled. "Sure thing."

We exchanged phone numbers, and then he did something that shocked me. Tentatively, he reached out to hug me. I hugged him back. I'd do anything to feel his yummy body.

_Aah, his muscles are even better when I can feel them touching me._ I felt a warmth grow between my legs. I couldn't believe Edward had this effect on me after not even a day. But then again, I was undoubtedly in love with him . . .

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Bella," Edward said. I smiled and nodded. Then he called out, "Let's go, Princess."

Wow, I had totally forgotten about the kids until he called Anna. I turned around to see them running toward us. I guess they'd went off to play when Edward and I had started talking. After all, the last thing a kid wants is to have to listen to a 'boring, adult conversation.'

"Let's go, Jase. Bye, Anna!" I smiled at her, and she smiled and waved back. Edward smiled.

I went home that night, thinking of Edward, and how amazing tomorrow was going to be.

And to my pleasant surprise, Jacob still wasn't home when I got there.

I went to bed, falling into the peaceful oblivion of sleep, dreaming of none other than the green-eyed hunk.

**Sorry about not having Edward's POV in this. We doubt Edward's POV will be in the next chapter either . . . Twilight-is-Lovee is disappointed. Her favorite POV is Edward's. She thinks it's so much fun to write. LOL. If you didn't notice, Twilight-is-Lovee is a big fluff-ball. All this 'fluff' is coming from her. Haha. But you know you love it. ;)**

**Also, Twilight-is-Lovee and Jamillia have added a poll to our profiles. It's the same poll, but please vote. We need to know your opinion. Lol.**

**Who thinks the rating should be changed to 'M'?**

**FINALLY, the Review Goal!!**

**Twilight-is-Lovee wants 100 reviews. You guys have given her 88 and she LOVES you for it. She couldn't be happier. She knows you, her trusty readers/reviewers won't let her down! Please Review!**

**And Jamillia wants 80 reviews. She currently has 66 and would LOVE it if you guys got her to at least 80. Please?**

**We love you! :)**


	7. The NonDate at Starbucks

_**Perfect Strangers**_

**– **_**Chapter 6: The Non-Date at Starbucks**_

**Disclaimer: Yeah, we don't own Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn, or Midnight Sun. We don't own the rights to anything. We own copies of the books though. :)**

**AN: Thank you guys so much for getting Twilight-is-Lovee more than 100 reviews! She loves you guys more than you know!**

**Also, her 100****th**** reviewer was TwilightSagaLover543. Go read her stories! They rock. One of them has been entered in the Twilight Awards! Vote for her! :)**

**And now, On to STARBUCKS! :)**

_**October 4**__**th**__**, 2008**_

**BPOV**

I awoke that morning with a jolt. I had the best dream I'd had in a while. It was Edward and I . . . And we were doing some stuff that's not appropriate for people under 18. If you know what I mean. Wink, wink.

I was sweating bullets. Who knew Dream-Edward could do that to a person? I looked to my side and found the bed empty. Jacob was gone again. Or maybe he'd never returned home. I hoped it was the latter . . . Maybe then I wouldn't have to have the pressure of dealing with him ever again. How I wished that were true.

Sigh.

I got up and went to my closet. I usually wouldn't have cared about what I wore, but I wanted to make a good impression on Edward. I didn't know why, but I did.

_Maybe because you love him, dummy, _a little voice in my head said. I ignored it, though. I mean, I never had the urge to dress nicely for Jacob, so why Edward? _Because Edward's different. You never loved Jacob, and don't try to argue with that because you know it's true._ I couldn't deny the little voice then. Sigh.

I chose a pretty, blue blouse and some black, dress pants. I figured that hazel looks good with green, which is the color of his eyes, and hazel also looks good with blue. Hence, blue looks good with green. I smiled, satisfied.

I put the outfit on my bed, and went to go take a shower. I soaped, shampooed, conditioned, and relaxed all my muscles before stepping out. Next, I blow dried my hair, and straightened it too. Alice, my brother wife, would be so proud of me if she knew all the things I did to get ready that morning.

I even applied make-up! Well, not much. I put on some eyeliner, slight eye shadow, and some lip-gloss. I didn't put on any blush because, in Alice's words, I had an au natural blush. And I didn't like mascara because it was bad for my eyelashes and it took too long to take off. Even if I used make-up remover.

After my make-up was done, I put on my clothes and went to wake up Jason. It didn't take him long to wake up. He was excited about seeing Anna again. They went to the same day care, too. It was weird how Edward and I had never met even though our kids were best friends. But you know what they say, it's a strange world.

After I got Jason dressed, I made him a glass of milk, and he drank it fast. It was creepy. Jase hated milk. I ignored it, thinking it was his excitement again.

I drove him to pre-school, arriving at 9:30. I didn't see Anna there, so I stayed a while, watching Jase play. I didn't want to be too early to our 'friendly meeting' at Starbucks.

After around 10 minutes of watching Jason run around, I decided to just head on down to Starbucks, but drive slowly. And that's exactly what I did.

When I got there, I saw the Adonis himself. He was leaning against his car's door, looking amazingly perfect as always. The sight of Edward was breathtaking, and I felt like I was about to start hyperventilating, so I waited a few moments in the car to collect myself. I didn't want to have him think I was sick and go into doctor mode or anything. I took a deep breath, and exited my truck. I walked up to him, and couldn't repress the grin that creeped onto my face.

"Hey," he breathed, flashing me his crooked smile.

I blushed. "Hey," I replied shyly. Why was it that he always brought out the love-struck teenager in me?

"So, let's go in?" he suggested after a few moments of silence. I simply nodded and followed him inside to the order-line.

"Hey, Edward! The usual? Caramel Frappacino and a Toffee Almond Bar?" a man asked Edward. His nametag said his name was Eric.

"Hello, Eric. Yes, I'll have the usual. What about you, Bella?"

"Oh, er, I'll have a Vanilla Latte and a Blueberry Muffin, please," I replied, stuttering at first.

"Anything for a pretty lady," Eric said with a wink. From my peripheral view, I saw Edward grind his teeth together and let out a low hiss, much too low for Eric to hear. I smiled nervously, slightly embarrassed by Eric's comment. Yet, I got a strange pleasure by Edward's jealousness.

"Thank you, Eric," Edward said through his still gritted teeth, sounding frustrated. I worked hard to resist giggling.

"Total's 15.82," Eric said, his tone reproaching. I guess he knew not to mess with Edward. I reached for my wallet, but a pale hand touched mine and stopped me. I looked up at Edward, and saw him shaking his head at me.

"My treat," he said.

"No, really, it's fine."

"Bella," he said in a warning tone.

I sighed. "Fine."

He smiled.

After Edward paid, we went to sit down at a booth near the window. Normal Starbucks cafés don't have booths, but the small town of Forks, the town I've called home since birth, is just weird.

For a while, we just sat there, staring off into space, not knowing what to say. My thoughts kept drifting to the Greek God sitting across from me. The silence was awkward and lust-filled. At least for me. I only wished it were the same for Edward.

"So, Bella, how are you feeling?" he asked after a while.

"I'm good. I'm feeling much, much better. Thanks, Edward."

He nodded. "Anytime, Bella." His voice held some emotion that I couldn't understand.

"So, tell me about yourself." _Wow, where'd that come from? _I couldn't believe I'd found the guts to say that. _Edward really does bring out a new me._

"Well, there's not much to say. I'm a doctor, as you know. And I have a three-year-old daughter whom I love. You knew that also. My dad's a doctor, and my mom's a housewife. I have a sister, Alice, who's a year younger than me. She's an annoying little pixie, but we're best friends. She's been bugging me about Anna lately. She wants to take her shopping."

"Wait, Alice . . . Jasper's wife?" I asked.

"Yeah, you know them?"

"Yep, Alice has been begging me to let her take me shopping. I hate shopping. And Jasper . . . I wish I _didn't _know him, but he's my brother."

"Wow, small world," he mused.

"Small world, indeed," I agreed.

"Why do you wish you didn't know Jasper?"

"Well, I mean, he's my brother and I love him . . . But he's always talking about his law nonsense that I always fail to understand."

"Law nonsense?" Edward asked, sporting an adorable confused look.

"He's a lawyer."

"Damn, I wish I knew that before," Edward muttered under his breath. I didn't think it was meant for me to hear, but I heard it anyway.

"Why'd you say that?"

He hesitated for a moment, but he seemed to realize something. He said, "Well, I don't really. . . love Tanya, my wife, any more. I don't think I ever did. I didn't want to marry her in the first place. The only reason I proposed was because of Anna. I felt she needed both a mother and a father. And at that point, Tanya was still the sweet girl I'd met in high school. But when we got married was when she showed her true self. She turned out to be a . . . a slut who didn't give a shit about her child. I don't think she ever truly cared about me either.

"She's lost Anna at least three times. Each time, though, we were lucky enough to find her. And just a week or so ago, she told me that she never really wanted Anna. She wanted to get an abortion. So, I really just want to break it off with her. To get a divorce. The idea of that has been in my mind for a while, but I've never done anything about it. But now that I know my brother-in-law is a lawyer, I think I _will_ deal with the Tanya situation."

His story made me gasp, and all I could manage to squeak out was, "Whoa."

"Yeah, but enough about me and my sob story. Why don't you tell me about yourself now?" I nodded and took a deep breath.

"Well, I'm a simple girl. Nothing too extravagant. I'm not even all that pretty. I was born here in Forks and have lived here my whole life. I have three brothers. Jasper, Emmett, and Jason. My mom died while birthing Jason, and Dad died 6 months later due to depression. I took Jason in and treated him like my own. He calls me Mom because as far as he knows, I am his mother. I have a boyfriend named Jacob. And," I took a deep breath as I said this, "And since you told me about Tanya. I feel right to share this with you. Remember those bruises you saw all over me yesterday?"

"Yes." He nodded slightly, willing me to go ahead. It must have been obvious I was nervous about sharing this with him.

"Well . . . Jacob beats me. And even Jason once. I don't know how to stop it. I want to break up with him, but I'm worried about the consequences. Because I'm sure that if I _off _things with him, he'll beat Jason and me even more, and I'm afraid he will never leave. He wasn't like this when I first met him, but then we moved in together, and he . . . changed! I – I don't know what to do about it, Edward."

"I am . . . so sorry," he said, his eyes full of pity and . . . love? _Whoa. _Then he added angrily, "I wish I could kill that monster for doing that to you. Bella, you need to get a lawsuit against him. If not that, at least kick him out. Please. I can't bear to see him hurting you. It disturbs me that he does that to you. Please deal with him, Bella."

I nodded. "I will. I just . . . don't know how yet. But I will." _Anything for you_, I added in my mind.

"Good."

"Wow, I never knew how good I'd feel letting all that out."

"I know, me too. I have all this stuff on my mind. You have no idea how relieved I feel to be able to share it with someone." I smiled.

Suddenly, both of our phones started beeping and we pulled them out.

"Ugh," we said in unison.

"Time to pick up the kids," I said.

"Yep." We walked out and he said, "So, will we see each other again?"

"Definitely," I answered with a smile.

"I'll call you then."

I nodded. After staring and smiling for what seemed like an eternity, he tentatively reached out and hugged me. I froze for a millisecond, but hugged him back. The feeling of our bodies together was . . . mind-blowing. It was as if we fit. Like two puzzle pieces. Meant to be together. I was never one for all the soul-mate bull, but . . . _I think I'm a believer now._

The hug ended ever too soon, but he kissed me cheek before letting go completely. I felt like I was in heaven.

We said our final goodbyes, and I entered my car. I sat there for a while, thinking of our 'non-date at Starbucks.' The car was completely silent. The only sound being my breathing. There was only one thing I could manage to say, even to myself.

"Wow."

**So, what do you think?! Oh, Twilight-is-Lovee's cousin had an interesting question. He wasn't sure if Bella was a virgin or not. And that made us think that you guys might be wondering the same thing.**

**So:**

**Question****: Is Bella a virgin?**

**Answer: Yes. She won't let Jacob take it away from her. But she has given Jacob a BJ, but only because he forced her to.**

**Question****: Is Edward a virgin?**

**Answer: Of course not. He has Anna, remember? But he's only done it once. That was the time they conceived Anna. After that, he figured out he didn't truly love Tanya. So he never felt like doing it with someone he didn't love. Remember, this is Edward the Virtue-man! Hahaha! :) Wow, that's Twilight-is-Lovee's new name for Edward! Virtue-man! :)**

**Also, what Bella ordered at Starbucks is another one of Jamillia's favorites. :D**

**Review goal****:**

**Twilight-is-Lovee LOVES you guys! You guys got her 112 when she asked for a 100! So, will it be safe to ask for 130 reviews this time? She loves you guys. Remember that! :D**

**Jamillia wants 105 reviews. Please? You guys got her 90! So that's only 15 reviews! Please, please, please?**

**We love you guys! Mwah! :)**


	8. The Papers

_**Perfect Strangers**_

– _**Chapter 7: The Papers**_

* * *

**Disclaimer: We are extremely disappointed to have to admit to the fact that we do not own Twilight.**

* * *

**AN: **Hey there! So, um, not much to say, except THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! . . . Also, Twilight-is-Lovee would like to say:

TwilightSagaLover543 and Twilight-is-Lovee are wannabe gangsters. Our gangster names are:  
TwilightSagaLover543: A-Dog.  
Twilight-is-Lovee: P-Dog.  
Chyeah! ;)

* * *

_**Sunday, October 5**__**th**__**, 2008**_

**EPOV**

I woke up around nine in the morning after having sweet dreams about the beautiful brown-haired angel whom I had the pleasure of talking to at Starbucks the previous day. Of course, the happiness of those dreams didn't last long, because when I turned to my side, I saw Tanya, my _wife_, sleeping soundly.

_Ugh_. I usually wasn't one to think too mean things about people, but Tanya has lost all the respect I ever had for her. I still hadn't gotten over the fact that she'd wanted to get an abortion. I shuddered at the thought.

Suddenly, a thought popped into my head. I pulled out my phone and looked through my contacts until I finally found the person I was looking for. I hit the 'call' button and waited while it rang. He picked up after three rings.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Hey, Jazz," I replied.

"Hey, Edward. What's up?"

"Well, I actually had a favor to ask of you . . ."

"Sure thing, what is it?" he asked.

"You know Bella, right? Wait, of course you know her. She's your sister. Gah, I'm an idio—" I was rambling, but Jasper cut me off.

"Yes, Edward, I know my sister," he said with a chuckle.

"Okay. Bella and I were talking, and she told me you were a lawyer. I was surprised I didn't know that already. I mean, you are my brother-in-law, after all."

"Yeah, I'm a lawyer. How can I offer you my services, Mr. Cullen?" He sounded very official, but he started laughing, and there went all the professionalism. I laughed with him nonetheless. Jasper knew how to affect your mood. It was sort of creepy, but it was fun.

"Jazz, I – I want a . . . divorce," I whispered. Tanya wasn't exactly a light sleeper, but I didn't want to chance it.

"Whoa. Hold on there, Bud. We aren't married. Can't get a divorce with someone you aren't married to." I laughed.

"Jazz, I'm serious. I can't deal with Tanya anymore." I explained to him the entire premises, and he was quiet for a moment.

"Well, if you want, I could get you the papers today itself. I was called to work earlier, and I'm actually in the car on my way to the law firm. So, I could get them to you by 7 tonight at the latest. It depends on when I get off from work."

"Thanks, Jazz. I owe you," I said honestly.

"You bet you do! But, if you want them early, we could meet for lunch and I can get them to you there. What do you say?"

"Sure, what time, what place?"

"Say . . . around noon. . . at Panera Bread?"

"Alright. See you then, Jasper." We said our goodbyes and I went to get ready for the day.

I didn't have to go to work today, so I was probably going to be at home all day aside from meeting Jasper. I didn't know Tanya's plans, nor did I care. I would be taking care of Anna permanently from now on. I didn't trust Tanya at all any longer. I would probably take Anna to Panera Bread with me as well.

I let her sleep in a little today, and ate breakfast by myself. Tanya woke up around 10, marching around groggily.

"Mornin'," she said without even looking at me.

"Mhm," I replied. I was going to ask her for a divorce before Anna was awake, but she's too bitchy at this time. I'd have to wait for later.

She stomped upstairs and returned thirty minutes later, completely bathed, dressed, and ready to go. To my surprise, she actually looked hyper now. I figured now was as good a time as any.

"Tanya, could you come sit with me for a second? I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

"Yes, Edward?" she asked, coming to sit across from me at the dining table.

"Tanya, I'm going to be honest with you and cut to the chase." She nodded, and I continued, "Tanya, I hate to say this, but . . . it's not working out. I don't feel any sparks anymore, and I seriously doubt you do, either. So, I – I want a divorce," I stuttered out. She stared at me, mouth agape.

"You can't be serious! What about Anna? You said you wanted her to have both her mother and her father!" I chuckled darkly at her statement.

"Tanya," I sighed, "I think you know very well that you're unfit to be a mother. I'm sorry, but it's true. You didn't even want Anna! I know this is sudden, but I've been thinking about it for a while. Today, I decided to make a move." She huffed and crossed her arms across her chest. I used to think it was cute, but now I thought it was one of the ugliest things I'd seen in my lifetime.

"Fine. When are you going to have the papers?"

"I'll have them to you by tonight. After we've both signed them, you may keep this house, I'll be moving out. I think I owe you this, at least. You did, after all, give birth to my child. The house is completely paid off, so you don't have to worry about that. I will take full responsibility of Anna, and she will move in with me. Unless of course you'd like to try to fight me on her custody."

"No, Anna can stay with you. After this divorce, I want it to be as if I've never met either of you. Understood?" I had to say, I was a little appalled at her statement. I understood her not wanting to see me, but her own daughter? That was simply wrong. But who am I to do anything about that?

"That's fine. I will try to find a house as fast as I can, and move as soon as possible." She nodded. I checked the time. It was eleven by now, and I had to meet Jasper at twelve. "Well, I must be going now. I have to meet Jasper at noon. I'm getting the papers from him then."

"I didn't know he was a lawyer," Tanya said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, me neither. I found out yesterday." She nodded, not prying further as she would've on any other occasion.

I went upstairs to get Anna bathed and ready. She was cranky this morning for some reason. Very whiny, too.

"Anna, baby, what's wrong?" I asked. She simply shrugged. I sighed and finished getting her ready.

I was about to leave to go to Panera Bread, when I had a sudden realization. Pulling out my cell phone for the second time that day, I dialed a number I'd memorized in less than an hour.

"Hello?" she answered, sounding breathless.

"Bella? Are you okay?"

"Edward?" She sounded surprised for some reason. "I'm fine. What's up?"

"Well . . . I sort of had a favor to ask of you, if you aren't busy, that is."

"Oh, no, not busy. Alice is just torturing me, that's all," she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I'm not torturing you, Bella. I'm just trying to get you into fashion. And who are you on the phone with?" I heard Alice ask.

"Sheesh, Alice. Hold on a moment," Bella said, clearly talking to Alice. Then, she said to me, "Sorry about that, your sister talks _a lot_. But you probably already knew that. Anyway, what was the—"

"You're talking to my brother?!" Alice interrupted.

"Yes, Alice. Now hush?" I heard Alice sigh. "So, what was that favor, Edward?"

"Oh, right. Well, I had to meet Jasper . . . for the divorce papers and—"

"_Divorce!?_ Already? Whoa. I didn't realize talking to me would inspire you that much," she said with a nervous laugh. I chuckled.

"What can I say; talking to you really did help. And luckily, Jazz said he could have the papers for me today itself. So I'm meeting him at Panera Bread for lunch. And that brings me to the favor . . . Could you maybe take Anna for me while I'm at lunch?"

"First of all, I'm happy for you. And secondly, I'd love to take Anna for a while," she said. I heard a squeal, which no doubt came from Alice.

"Bella, hand over the phone," Alice said. Bella sighed. Then, Alice was on the phone. "'Kay, Edward. I don't know what's the deal with you and Bella, but I'm taking Anna shopping too. I've been dying to do that. And I can't believe you would call Bella instead of your own sister."

"Ali," I sighed. "I didn't call you for simply one reason. You and your shopping obsession! Anna hates shopping, remember? But I guess I have no option anyhow." I could practically hear her rolling her eyes. "So where do I meet you?"

"Bella and I are on our way to The Coffee Bean and Tree Leaf. Meet us there."

"Alright, I'll be there in ten."

"Bye," Alice said and hung up. I was a bit disappointed I couldn't say bye to Bella, but I guess there was nothing I could do about that.

I buckled Anna up in my Volvo and sped to the café. When I got there, I saw Alice's yellow Porsche parked beside an empty spot. I parked there, and exited the car. I hurriedly unbuckled my daughter and walked inside.

I searched around, and soon enough, I saw Alice and Bella sitting in a booth, talking. They looked as if they were best friends. They probably were.

"Hey," I said as I reached them.

"Auntie Alice! Bella!" Anna squealed, jumping out of my arms and running to them, giving them a hug each.

"So, Edward, what's all this about?" Alice asked, one eyebrow raised suspiciously.

"What no, 'hi, brother dearest, how are you?'" Bella giggled and waved. I smiled at her.

"Hi, Brother Dearest. How are you on this lovely day? Now, what's all this about?" Alice sure was an impatient soul. By this point, Bella was full-out laughing. It was the prettiest sound I'd ever heard.

I sighed. "I'm fine, Sister Dearest," I said with a mocking smile. Alice rolled her eyes. "I'm getting a divorce." As soon as the words tumbled out of my mouth, Alice's jaw dropped.

"_What?!_"

"Yeah, Bella and I talked yesterday, and I decided that I truly did want to get rid of Tanya. For good. I talked to her about it and—"

"You talked to her already!? What did she say!?" Bella asked, interrupting me.

"Well, she said that she wanted it to be as if she didn't know Anna or me, and that she never knew us, and we were never a part of her life," I said simply. Then, I realized something. Anna was sitting right there. I looked at her, and was glad to see her busy playing with a lock of Bella's hair.

"I'm so sorry," Bella said, sounding truly sad.

"I think it's good, actually. I can finally be . . . free to do what I please." Alice and Bella nodded. "I must be going now, I was supposed to meet Jasper at noon, and it's now . . ." I looked at my watch. "12:05."

"Bye! Tell Jazzie I said 'hi!'" Alice exclaimed. I nodded.

"Bye, Edward," Bella said shyly. I smiled.

"Goodbye. I'll call you two when I'm done."

"Oh, no need. Bella and I are having a girls day. All day. Jase is at swim lessons. So Anna can be a part of our girls day! What do you say?"

"That's fine with me if it's fine with Bella," I said.

"Of course. It's no problem, Edward. I love Anna, she's adorable," Bella said sincerely. I felt my heart swell at her words. I nodded and left, waving before exiting the door.

I got in my car and rushed to the Panera Bread near Jasper's work. I'd been there a few times. Its Chicken Caesar sandwich and lemonade is the best; it's my favorite.

When I got there, I saw Jasper sitting inside.

"Hey, dude, what's got you so late?" he asked.

"I had to drop Anna off to Bella and Alice. They're all having a girls day together, apparently." Jasper nodded.

"Alice said something about that this morning."

"Yeah, she says 'hi,' by the way." He smiled.

"Alright. Well, let's order. Then we can talk about all this." I nodded. I ordered a Chicken Caesar sandwich with lemonade. It's my favorite, as I mentioned earlier. Jasper ordered a Smokehouse Turkey sandwich with a Coke.

We sat down on a table beside the windows, and Jasper handed over the divorce papers.

"Thanks man, you're a lifesaver," I said.

"You're welcome. Just get them signed, and you're done. But there's the issue of Anna's custody."

"Already taken care of. Tanya wants it to be as if she were never part of our lives," I said whilst shrugging.

"Whoa, well, that's good. I never saw Tanya as a good mother."

"Yeah, me neither. Hence, the divorce. Plus, she was never a good wife either. I didn't really . . . love her." Jasper nodded in consideration.

"So, what's going on between you and my sister?" he asked randomly. I was taken by utter shock.

"We're friends," I stated and looked down at my food. I could feel Jasper's gaze on me.

"You love her!" he practically yelled.

"Sh. . ."

"You do, don't you?" he asked, his voice brought down a few octaves. I sighed. There was no point in denying it.

"Yeah, Jazz, yeah, I do."A big grin broke out on his face.

"Well, that's great! I never liked Jacob . . ."

"Wait, you don't know? You don't know, do you!?" I asked, appalled by the fact that Bella didn't tell him.

"Don't know what?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just . . . thinking . . . out loud," I mustered up. Jasper gave me a disapproving look. He knew I lied, but he didn't pry more.

"Uh-huh, sure. But hey, I gotta go. My break's almost over. I'll see ya later, kay?"

"Bye, Jazz."

I sat there for a while after Jasper left, just thinking. Soon, I decided to go home. Home to face Tanya. Home to the beginning of a new life.

* * *

**AN: Twilight-is-Lovee: squeals Is anyone else as excited about this as I am!? Aah! I'm bouncing off the walls right now. Hah! :D**

**Anyway, review goals:**

**Twilight-is-Lovee: 150! I know y'all can do it. Cos you are SUPER-REVIEWERS! :D**

**Jamillia: 130! Please, our dear, Super Reviewers? :)**


	9. Girl's Day Out

_**Perfect Strangers**_

– _**Chapter 8: Girl's Day Out**_

**Disclaimer****: We are extremely disappointed to have to admit to the fact that we do not own Twilight.**

**AN****: Guys, a lot of you wanted Edward to tell Jasper about Jacob beating Bella. But see, he can't do that because if he did, Bella wouldn't trust him anymore…. But don't worry, everything will work out in time.**

**Also, one of Twilight-is-Lovee's favorite reviews was by The Devil's Little Angel. (Read her stories, they're awesome. We love them!) Here's the review:**

_**Heyy Twilight-is-lovee! It's the Devil's Little Angel, again. Gah, I love this story. You read my stories so I thought I should repay you! I think you guys have some obsession with coffee though… but its okay!**_

_**Remember, that next chapter will be up tomorrow for "Is it Too Late to Say I Love You".**_

_**Thanks! Update soon!**_

_**PEACE.JOY.HAPPINESS.**_

_**-Keys**_

**It made TIL crack uppp! Cos we do have a coffee obsession – well, TIL does. ;)**

**TIL's 150****th**** reviewer was Caww. And caww, it wouldn't let her message you to give you a preview. She's sorry. :( Your profile didn't show the 'message' button.**

_**Sunday, October 5**__**th**__**, 2008**_

**BPOV**

_Ring! Ring! Ring!_

And so the monotony of another day begins.

I rolled over in bed and grabbed my cell phone off the nightstand. Of course, Alice would call me at exactly 8:00 AM on a Sunday. Does she ever sleep?

"Yes, Alice?" I said sleepily, rubbing my eyes in the darkness of my room. Jacob was gone – again.

"Hello, Bella! I just thought that since there was nothing to do today, we could go shopping. Wake up and get dressed; I'm two minutes away. Okay? See you soon! Bye."

And the dial tone.

Groaning, I stumbled out of bed and towards the closet. I quickly pulled on a pair of blue jeans and a brown, v-neck t-shirt on. I brushed my teeth and hair at light speed and ran out the door. Alice was almost here, and Jason needed to be ready for his swimming lesson.

"C'mon, Jason, get up. Auntie Alice is going to be here soon." He woke up and practically ran to get dressed. He knew Alice meant a very hectic day and she was not happy when we weren't ready.

"Oh, Bella!!" a high-pitched voice sang from down the hall.

"Coming!" I called back.

I left Jason to get ready and walked out towards the pixie-like Alice. She was bouncing up and down, a grin plastered to her face. The second she saw me, she stopped and stared disapprovingly.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"Your outfit. Do you really expect me to take you shopping in that? It shouldn't even be allowed in public."

I looked down to see what she disliked. It seemed perfectly fine to me. Just then, two tiny arms wrapped around me and dragged me to the bathroom. Time for another Bella-Barbie session.

At some point early into what would turn out to be an hour-long makeup affair, Jason came out of his room and watched television the second he realized Alice and I were busy. Hopefully, he was eating something too.

Around 9:15, Alice clasped her hands together and smiled at the mirror, clearly pleased with her work. I could only breathe a sigh of relief.

"Awww, you know you like it," she said, pinching my cheek like a baby. I forced a smile and got up, ready to leave and get the rest of the day over with.

The three of us were seated in her Porsche, dressed satisfactorily and full with food by 10:00. I had cooked enough for five people just to delay time. Of course, Alice had stopped me there and started gobbling up as much as she could so Jason and I wouldn't have much reason to take longer. It was a bit odd seeing her eat almost half of the pancakes and eggs.

"Sheesh, Bella! It's 10:00 and we still have to get Jason to his swimming lesson. There won't be enough time to shop!"

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Alice, his lesson doesn't start until 10:30. We have time. Plus, it's not like I was going to leave him there alone if we were earlier."

Regardless, she was driving almost 100 miles per hour towards our first stop. A mere three minutes later, we stopped in front of the building.

I stepped out of the car and went to sign Jason in. I would've waited; I wanted to wait, but Alice insisting on getting to the mall as soon as possible. Something about a sale we couldn't pass up. So here I was, sitting on the passenger seat of Alice's car, as we rushed towards the Mall of Port Angeles.

_Ring! Ring! Ring!_

I smiled. At least it wasn't Alice. My day couldn't get worse.

"Hello?" I answered breathlessly. The hectic morning already had me tired.

"Bella? Are you okay?"

"Edward?" I was surprised. I didn't think a god would be the one to call me. "I'm fine. What's up?"

"Well… I sort of had a favor to ask of you, if you aren't busy, that is."

"Oh, no, not busy. Alice is just torturing me, that's all." _Not like anything else should be expected from her on a Sunday morning._

"I'm not torturing you, Bella. I'm just trying to get you into fashion. And who are you on the phone with?" Alice said next to me.

"Sheesh, Alice. Hold on a moment," I said to Alice. "Sorry about that, your sister talks a lot. But you probably already knew that." Great, I was rambling. "Anyway, what was the –"

"You're talking to my brother?!" Alice exclaimed next to me.

"Yes, Alice. Now, hush!" Alice sighed and I took that as her resignation. "So what was that favor, Edward?"

"Oh, right. Well, I had to meet Jasper . . . for the divorce papers and—"

"_Divorce!?_ Already? Whoa. I didn't realize talking to me would inspire you that much," I said, laughing nervously. He chuckled.

"What can I say; talking to you really did help. And luckily, Jazz said he could have the papers for me today itself. So I'm meeting him at Panera Bread for lunch. And that brings me to the favor . . . Could you maybe take Anna for me while I'm at lunch?"

"First of all, I'm happy for you. And secondly, I'd love to take Anna for a while." I was happy about taking Anna, she was adorable. Alice squealed beside me.

"Bella, hand over the phone," Alice said. I sighed and gave her the phone "'Kay, Edward. I don't know what's the deal with you and Bella, but I'm taking Anna shopping too. I've been dying to do that. And I can't believe you would call Bella instead of your own sister."

Alice rolled her eyes at something Edward said. "Bella and I are on our way to The Coffee Bean and Tree Leaf. Meet us there." She waited for his reply then said, "Bye." I was a bit disappointed about not being able to say 'goodbye' to Edward, but I figured I was going to see him soon anyhow, so it didn't really matter.

A few minutes later, I saw a breathless Edward and Anna walking towards us.

"Hey," he said as he reached as.

"Auntie Alice! Bella!" Anna squealed, jumping out of Edward's arms and running to us, giving us a hug each.

"So, Edward, what's all this about?" Alice asked, one eyebrow raised suspiciously.

"What no, 'hi, brother dearest, how are you?'" I giggled and waved. Edward smiled his angelic smile at me.

"Hi, Brother Dearest. How are you on this lovely day? Now, what's all this about?" Alice sure was an impatient soul. By this point, I was full-out laughing. Edward seemed to be in dream-land, but he quickly shook out of it.

He sighed. "I'm fine, Sister Dearest," he said with a mocking smile. Alice rolled her eyes. "I'm getting a divorce." As soon as the words exited his mouth, Alice's jaw dropped.

"_What?!_"

"Yeah, Bella and I talked yesterday, and I decided that I truly did want to get rid of Tanya. For good. I talked to her about it and—"

"You talked to her already!? What did she say!?" I asked, interrupting him.

"Well, she said that she wanted it to be as if she didn't know Anna or me, and that she never knew us, and we were never a part of her life," Edward said simply. Then, he seemed to realize something. He looked to Anna at the same time I did, and we were glad to see she was busy playing with my hair.

"I'm so sorry," I said, honestly sad about his predicament.

"I think it's good, actually. I can finally be . . . free to do what I please." Alice and I nodded. "I must be going now, I was supposed to meet Jasper at noon, and it's now . . ." he looked at his watch. "12:05."

"Bye! Tell Jazzie I said 'hi!'" Alice exclaimed. Edward nodded.

"Bye, Edward," I said shyly. Edward smiled back at me.

"Goodbye. I'll call you two when I'm done."

"Oh, no need. Bella and I are having a girls day. All day. Jase is at swim lessons. So Anna can be a part of our girls day! What do you say?"

"That's fine with me if it's fine with Bella," Edward said.

"Of course. It's no problem, Edward. I love Anna, she's adorable," I said sincerely. Edward's face showed joy and happiness at my words, and I was glad I could make him happy, and I truly did love Anna as if she were my own.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Edward as he walked towards his car. His messy, bronze hair swayed peacefully in the wind and made him look even sexier than usual.

As soon as Edward was out of sight, Alice pummeled me with questions. "So, what's up between you and my brother?" she asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Erm, we're friends. So, nothing . . ." I said. Then added under my breath, "Not yet at least."

"Not yet? What do you mean?" _Crap. _Alice heard that.

"Um . . . I don't know what you're talking about," I said, hoping she'd buy it.

"You're a crappy liar, you know that right?"

I sighed. "There really is nothing going on between us."

"Whatever. C'mon, Anna. We're going shopping!" Alice exclaimed, skipping. I couldn't help but laugh as Anna imitated Alice's skipping almost perfectly.

We got in the car and Alice sped off towards Port Angeles. Her inhumanly fast driving got us there in less than thirty minutes. We parked and walked inside the mall. Alice found a store she liked and skipped inside with Anna in tow. I followed.

Of course, Alice had gotten to Anna. They were off and running around the store, pulling clothes off the shelves like nobody's business. I, on the other hand, took my time browsing and was soon forgotten.

I was searching through a rack, looking for my size in a midnight blue, v-neck shirt when I felt two strong arms wrap around my torso and pull me backwards, covering my mouth with a cloth. I tried to scream, but it came out too muffled to be heard.

As I stumbled backward, still held tightly by the arms of my captor, I looked around frantically but could not find Alice or Anna – or anyone, for that matter. I was alone. A single tear fell from my eyes as I was pushed against the wall in a dark corner of the building. The cloth was pulled from my mouth and I gasped for breath.

"Where have you been, Bella?" a low voice spoke roughly in my ear.

"I-I… What do you mean? You-you've been the one gone," I squeaked out.

Then he kissed me. It wasn't gentle, or sweet. It was rough and the alcohol was plain and clear on his breath. It was so bad, I almost choked on the disgusting smell.

After what seemed like an eternity, I was finally released. With all the strength I could muster, I pushed Jacob and he stumbled a bit due to his drunken state. I silently thanked the world he was drunk on this occasion. At any other time, I would have been far too weak to affect him.

He caught his balance and looked up at me, astonished by my rejection. Then I took off running. I ran and ran, needing to get to the dressing rooms, where Alice would surely be.

Halfway there, I bumped into a little figure and fell backwards. Looking up, I found two brown eyes staring at me.

"Alice!" I exclaimed, hugging her.

"Bella! Why were you running? Find something nice you wanted my approval on?" She squatted, once I released her from my hug, and pulled the blue shirt I was looking at earlier from my hands. In all the excitement, I had forgotten I was still holding it. "This scruffy thing, Bella? All well. So where have you been? I've been looking every where for you."

"Oh… uhm… nowhere." I sighed and got up, hoping she wouldn't press the matter further. I certainly wouldn't be shopping on my own for the rest of the day. At least not while there was still a chance Jacob was around.

**Twilight-is-Lovee is ecstatic about her statistics. She's literally bouncing off the walls with joy. Perhaps you guys could get her to 180 reviews?**

**Jamillia absolutely loves you for getting her to 131 reviews! She is sooooo happy. Could we get her to 150 for this chapter??**

**Finally, we just want to share with you the character's ages, so here is our list:**

**Bella - 25, Jasper - 22, Emmett - 20, Jason - 3**

**--**

**Edward - 26, Alice - 21, Anna - 3**

**--**

**Rosalie - 20**

**--**

**Jacob - 26, Tanya - 26**

**--**

**Carlisle - 53, Esme - 52**

**--**

**Renée died while giving birth to Jason, Charlie died from a heart attack when Jason was around 6 months old.**


	10. Frustration

_**Perfect Strangers**_

_**Chapter 9: Frustration**_

* * *

**Disclaimer: We are extremely disappointed to have to admit to the fact that we do not own Twilight or Starbucks or Publix or the Coffee Bean and Tree Leaf. Sigh.**

* * *

**AN:** Not much to say, but . . . Here's another review that Twilight-is-Lovee loved! :) It's, again, by **The Devil's Little Angel**:

_Yay! You posted! And my review is up there. GASP._

_Okay, let's just go straight for the punch:_

_Jacob is a -BEEP-. I he would -BEEP-ing -BEEP- and -BEEP-. So he could live  
in -BEEP- -BEEP- or -BEEP- -BEEP- -BEEP-._

_Whoo. I'm done...I don't know what the hell that's supposed to say, but you  
get the drift. I just had to vent my anger on the subject of Jacob...and this  
bag of chips that won't open. ARGH!_

_Hehee._

**So! **It cracked TIL up! :D

Also, Keys (The Devil's Little Angel) there's something in the first paragraph that's going to make you laugh. Read it and tell me what you think I'm talking about. ;)

* * *

**And now, without further ado, here's chapter 9!**

* * *

_**Sunday, October 5th, 2008**_

**EPOV**

After my meeting with Jasper, I decided to do some grocery shopping. We needed some milk, juice, lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, and various other average vegetables and such. I also really wanted to get a coffee maker. Ours had broken about a week ago, and it was a pain to survive without my handy-dandy coffee.

_Wow, I've been watching Blue's Clues with Anna too much._ I chuckled to myself. That show was plainly annoying. I wondered why kids loved it so much.

After I was done at Publix, the place where I always bought my food supplies, I drove to Downtown to walk at the ever-so-famous Forks National Park. If I were being honest, the only reason I didn't go straight home was to be away from Tanya for as long as possible. I really wanted that divorce, but I wasn't ready to face her just yet. I truly didn't like Downtown. It was too loud. However, I'd do anything to delay seeing Tanya.

At the park, I met a couple looking old enough to be my parents. They looked oddly familiar. Maybe it was because if you looked closely enough, you'd be able to see a hint of bronze in the woman's hair. It was strange. I'd never met anyone else with bronze hair before. Of course, mine was more bronze than hers was, but there was definitely some bronze in there. I walked up to them, intrigued.

"Hello," the man said with a smile. His smile was slightly crooked, like mine. _Strange._ The woman smiled as well.

"Good afternoon," I greeted them.

"I'm Elizabeth Masen, and this is my husband, Edward Sr.," the woman, Elizabeth, said. _Whoa, wait. Did she say his name was Edward?! And why the 'senior' part?_

"Wow, um, my name's Edward, too. Interesting coincidence," I said, still a little in shock.

"Why, that truly is intriguing, isn't it? What's your last name, son?" Edward Sr. asked. It felt weird talking to someone whom I shared a name with.

"Cullen." I then realized something, and added, "Edward Anthony Masen Cullen." Elizabeth gasped.

"It – it really is y–you," she breathed. She burst out into tears, and I felt a want – a need – to comfort her. I didn't know why, but I hated – no, I loathed – to see her cry.

"Are you okay, Ma'am?" I asked. She nodded through her tears. Edward Sr. put his arms around her and cooed words of comfort in her ear.

"She'll be okay, son. She's just surprised, is all," he said to me once Elizabeth had somewhat calmed down.

"Why is she surprised?"

"I don't think it's my place to tell you." I could tell he wanted nothing more than to tell me, but was resisting for some reason.

"Do you know someone who _can _tell me?!" I was getting frustrated. I wanted to know why the woman was so shocked to see me that she was _crying_!

Edward Sr. sighed. "Carlisle and Esme Cullen can."

"My parents?" I asked, slightly distraught. How did they know my parents? Edward Sr. nodded. "How do you know them?"

"They . . . Well . . . Carlisle . . . was the doctor who delivered my son."

"You have a son?"

"I did."

"What do you mean?"

"Listen, son, I _really _can't tell you all that."

"You can't tell me about your own son?" I asked, getting more and more suspicious of him by each tick of the second-hand on my watch.

"No, I cannot. I know someone who can, however. Your father and mother." I sighed. There was no way of getting him to tell me, so I just about gave up on trying to persuade him. I did have a question, however.

"Is your son's name Edward?" Edward Sr. froze for a second, and then nodded stiffly.

"Yes, it is." _Well, at least that explains the senior._

"So . . . What happened to him?" I couldn't resist asking.

"Like I said, I cannot tell you." I let out a sharp sigh.

"Fine. Let's go."

"Go where, angel?" Elizabeth spoke up. I looked at her and all the fury within me melted. I couldn't remain angry once I saw her face. It was full of the tears she'd shed. Her eyes were red from all her crying. She looked a mess. I couldn't help the slight frown that came over my face.

"Please don't cry," I said softly, ignoring her question. This brought on more tears. "Alright. I can't take it anymore. We're going to see my parents. Now. I want to know what all this is about." Edward Sr. sighed, clearly expecting this.

Then, completely out of the blue, Elizabeth jumped on me. Well, more like ran to me and hugged me so tight that the air was whooshed out of me. I was frozen for a second, but slowly, I wrapped my arms around her and slightly rubbed her back.

"Sh, it's okay. It's alright," I whispered in her ear. "Please don't cry." Elizabeth reminded me of my mother, in a way. She wasn't like Esme, but she felt like a motherly figure, in a way . . . It was strange, to say the least.

She sobbed into my chest for a while, and then slowly regained control of herself.

"Oh my, I apologize. That was very rude of me," she said once she was done letting out her tears.

"It's no problem, Mrs. Masen," I replied.

"Oh, dear. Mrs. Masen is my mother. Call me Lizzie." I smiled and nodded.

"Alright, well, can we go to see my parents now? Dad should be home today since it's Sunday . . ." I trailed off when I noticed the sadness etched on Lizzie's features. "What's wrong?"

"Oh! Nothing, dear, it's nothing. Shall we go?" I didn't believe her when she said nothing was wrong because there was very obviously something wrong, but I nodded anyway.

I led the way to my car, and Lizzie and Edward Sr. followed. I unlocked the car and opened the backseat for Elizabeth while Edward Sr. went to sit in the passenger seat.

"What a gentleman," Lizzie said with a proud smile. I smiled back timidly.

I got in the driver's seat and started the car. As soon as it was on, I sped out of the parking spot. I was driving at 80 mph, much to Elizabeth's obvious displeasure.

"Edward, sweetheart, slow down. You don't want to get into a crash, now do you?" I smirked.

"I've never even gotten a ticket, Lizzie. So, calm down, we'll be fine," I said. She sighed. "You act like Anna. She used to be terrified of my driving, but she's recently gotten used to it."

"Is Anna your wife?" Edward Sr. asked, sounded very intrigued. I laughed out loud.

"No," I said between chuckles. "She's my daughter." Both of their jaws dropped.

"You … have a daughter?" Lizzie asked, still in shock. I nodded.

"She's three years old, and the most adorable little girl you'll ever meet. But I might be biased," I said with a small laugh.

"Can I meet her?"

"Well, she's with Bella and Alice, my sister, today, but maybe some other time."

"Bella's a pretty name. Is _she_ your wife?" I blushed slightly, much to my embarrassment.

"I wish," I added under my breath, then spoke louder, "No."

"Why are you blushing?" Elizabeth asked, a hint of knowingness in her voice. _I guess I can tell her . . ._

"See . . . I'm married to Tanya, and I never wanted to marry her in the first place. I had to, though, because she was the mother of my child, and a child needs both her parents. So I proposed when Anna was about 3 months old. We got married and have been married since. However, I haven't loved her since the day we were pronounced man and wife, because that was when her true colors came out. Recently, I met Bella. She's the sister of Alice's husband, Jasper. I'd never met her before because whenever someone hosted a family dinner or something of the sort, one of us was always busy.

"So, we met and I realized that I was and am in love with her. I am head over heels in love with her. And I can't do anything about it. The sad part is we're both in relationships. Neither of us wants to be in them . . . But it's complicated. However, I got divorce papers today and I hope to get them signed tonight and be rid of Tanya. She's not a good mother, anyhow," I said, summarizing half my life to them. It was funny how I could be so open with them even though I didn't know them for even a day. Before they got a chance to respond to my story, we'd reached the house. I opened the door for Elizabeth and helped her out. She smiled at me.

I led them to the front door and walked in using my key.

"Mom? Dad?" I called. Five seconds later, I saw Esme running towards me, engulfing me in a hug. I hugged her back tightly.

"Edward! What are you doing here? I missed you! You must visit more often, okay, young man?" I smiled.

"Yes, Mom," I said in a whiny tone. She laughed and hugged me again. Then she noticed we had guests. She looked towards them, prepared to apologize, most likely, but as she realized whom they were, her jaw dropped so low I was worried it was going to fall off.

"Elizabeth, Edward," she breathed out. She had an expression of utter shock on her face.

She looked a little dizzy, and before I could do anything, she fainted.

* * *

**AN:** Hahaha, like our name for the park? 'Forks National Park.' HAHA! See, we told you we were creative with names. ;) Wink, wink.

* * *

**Review Goal: **Twilight-is-Lovee _really_ wants to reach 200 reviews.

Jamillia would like to get to 160 reviews. :)

* * *

**Also, our goal by the end of this story is to have 1,000 reviews on at least one of our profiles.** Think you could help us out with that? _Please_? If you could just put a **'hi'** in the review. Or just put a **'.'** for all we care! We just want a review, you know?

We've all been to in the place where we'd do anything for reviews. _So, please help us out?_ I mean, there are **55** of you getting an alert for this story on Twilight-is-Lovee's profile. It wouldn't hurt to click the review button and just put a teeny tiny review in, would it? _**Pleaseeeee!**_

We will love you for _life_ if you get us those 1,000 reviews by the end of this story! _**Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease**_!! If you all start reviewing, it won't take very long.

So, get your friends to read this, if you could. Do anything. Just help us get to 1,000 reviews. Pwease? :D

**And how 'bout we make a deal?** If you get us 1,000 reviews, we will stop asking for reviews altogether. We just want the 1,000 reviews. That's all. So, _**PLEASE!! **_Okay, we're gonna stop begging now, but yeah. :)

And remember, Twilight-is-Lovee is going to offer a 'prize' to her 200th reviewer! :)


	11. I'm whaa?

_**Perfect Strangers**_

_**Chapter 10: I'm whaa . . . ?**_

* * *

**Disclaimer: We are extremely disappointed to have to admit to the fact that we do not own Twilight or Edward Cullen. Sad, isn't it? :(**

* * *

**AN (Twilight-is-Lovee): **Buh-jeezeez. 3 I love you guys! I asked for 200 reviews and what do you get me? 213! Chyeah! So, I'd just like to say . . . You guys . . . You truly are my superduper reviewers. I loverz you! :)

**xtwilighterx is my 200****th**** reviewer!!**

* * *

**Also**, I have a reviewer, **Vivv**, and she doesn't have an FF account, so I'd like to say to her:  
_OMG! Vivv! I love you for reviewing like . . . every chapter so far! And ignoring your studies to read this! Haha. 33 What grade are you in? I mean, you can't possibly have as much as you say, do you? Lol. And what are you confused about? If it was anything from the last chapter . . . Well, I hope to explain it in this one. And I'll try to make it as long as dragged out as possible! :D Thanks for reviewing!!_

**AND! Jamillia is really busy, so yeah. Just thought I'd let you know!**

* * *

**Anyway, on to the story!**

* * *

_**Sunday, October 5th, 2008**_

_Previously:_

"_Elizabeth, Edward," she breathed out. She had an expression of utter shock on her face._

_She looked a little dizzy, and before I could do anything, she fainted._

**EPOV**

"Mom!" I exclaimed, catching her before she could fall flat on the floor. Elizabeth and Edward Sr. came and stood next to me, looking down at Esme, my mother, with worried eyes.

"Is she going to be okay, sweetie?" Elizabeth asked.

"Um . . . I _hope_ so." I wasn't really all that coherent at that moment. My mother had just fainted right in front of my eyes, so I don't think anyone really expected me to be in my senses.

Elizabeth and Edward nodded.

"Dad!?" I yelled. "_Dad!?_"

I heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and looking towards the staircase, I saw my father, Carlisle, rushing downstairs.

"What's wrong!?" he asked, immediately spotting Esme in my arms and rushing over to her. "Edward, son, what happened?"

"Well, she saw Elizabeth and Edward Masen and fainted . . ." I trailed off. "But wait, Dad! Don't you faint on me, too. I can't handle both my parents passing out at the same time." Carlisle merely nodded. He seemed to realize something suddenly, and looked up. His mouth went agape and his eyes wide.

"Why, what are you two doing here? I haven't seen you in twenty-five years." Something about his statement made me suspicious. I don't know why, but it felt really obvious. Sort of like one of those situations where you feel you're missing out on something and when you find out what it is, you feel really dumb.

"We were at Forks National Park, and Edward found us there," Edward Sr. answered.

"Interesting. What were you doing at the park, Edward? You hate Downtown." I nodded.

"Yes, but Dad, can we talk about that _after_ Mom's … awake?" I asked, feeling silly and self-conscious for some unfathomable reason. I felt the feeling I had only when I wanted to impress someone. But I didn't know whom it was I wanted to impress.

"Right. Edward, go fetch me a glass of water for Esme." That was strange. Carlisle never called Esme 'Esme' when he was talking to Alice or me. He always said 'your mother' or something of the sort. I shook my head to clear it of the thoughts, and went to get the water he asked for.

When I returned, I seemed to be walking in on a private conversation, for when I entered, they all stopped all talking and turned to face me.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I entered, handing the water to Carlisle and going to stand next to Esme, who now lay on the couch, still not awake.

"Nothing's wrong," Carlisle said in a voice that made me suspicious. I nodded and squinted my eyes a little at him, trying to tell him I knew he was lying. He shot me an apologetic glance and started trying to wake Esme up.

A few minutes passed, and she finally started waking up, though she still acted as if she were in a stupor.

"Edward?" she mumbled incoherently.

"Yeah, Mom?"

"Why are your parents here?" Everyone in the room froze, with the exception of Esme and me, of course.

"Uh, Mom . . . You and Dad live here."

"No, no. I meant your real parents." _Huh?_

"What?"

"Huh? Oh. Um. Nothing. Forget I said anything," she said, suddenly looking a hell of a lot better. She finally looked like my mother again, and not some incoherent drunkard.

"What? No. What did you mean, Mom?" She looked very uncomfortable.

"Nothing, sweetheart, so what did you come home for?"

"Oh, right. Well, Edward Sr. and Elizabeth wouldn't answer my questions, and when I asked who could, they said my parents could, so I bought them here." Esme and Carlisle nodded.

"Well, son, what are your questions? I suppose we should start answering them. After all, we do have some explaining to do, and it's about time you knew the truth," Carlisle said. _Wait, the truth? What?_

"What do you mean by the truth? What's . . . the truth?"

"I think you should sit down for this." I nodded and sat down on the couch, next to Esme.

"Okay, now, explain," I asked demandingly. Then, remembering my manners, added, "Please?" Esme and Elizabeth smiled approvingly. Everyone took a seat, and Carlisle began talking.

"I don't know what all Elizabeth and Edward told you, but I'll start from the beginning." I nodded and motioned with my hands for him to go on. "I was working a late-shift on June 20th, 1983, and I don't usually do this, but the doctor who was supposed to do it was out and –"

"Do what?" I asked, cutting him off.

"Deliver a baby." At this, my eyebrows shot up.

"But . . . You've never done that before."

"I know. That was my first and last time. I delivered Elizabeth and Edward's baby. They couldn't support him, and were going frantic worrying about what to do with him. Having to give up her son was breaking Elizabeth's heart. They still didn't know what to do with him, so . . . I – I"—I knew what was coming next, I just knew it—"offered to adopt him and raise him as my own." I fucking knew it. "Esme agreed, since she'd had a miscarriage a year ago and really wanted a child. Therefore, we adopted him and agreed to never let him know about it. We didn't want him to worry unnecessarily. We never thought we'd see Elizabeth or Edward again so we never worried about the possibility of him finding out. Esme and I fell in love with the child and always felt as though he did come from Esme's womb. Edward, son, the child is you." I sighed. I. Fucking. Knew. It. That seemed like the only thought my brain was processing at that moment.

"I. Fucking. Knew. It." Apparently, that was the only thing my mouth was going to allow me to say as well.

"Language!" Esme and Elizabeth yelled in unison. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, Mom . . ." I whined. Then, scrunching my face up, I said, "Wait, um, yes . . . Moms?"

Everyone laughed.

I looked over at Elizabeth and noticed she had tears in her eyes. "D – don't cry, um, Elizabeth – Mom, mother . . . Madre?" The last one got a chuckle out of her. She ran over to me and hugged me tightly once again. I hugged her back as she buried her head in my chest. I looked over and saw everyone watching this reunion intently.

"You can call me whatever you want, honey," she said, her voice a bit muffled due to her face still hidden on my chest. I looked over at Esme. She simply smiled.

"Honey, she's your mother, you can call her 'mom' if you want. I don't mind sharing you, sweetheart," she said. I could feel my eyes welling up. I'd never dealt well with emotions. Very randomly, I wished Jasper were here to calm me down. That boy sure did know how to change a person's emotions.

"So . . . Um, what now?" I asked, confused as to what to do now that things were cleared.

"I'm sure you'd like to spend some time with your parents, sweetie. So Carlisle and I will give you three some privacy," Esme said. I could see the hurt in her eyes, but she covered it up well. I knew what the hurt was about. She thought I was not going to love her anymore now that I knew she wasn't really my mother.

"Um, Mom? Can I talk to you for a second?" I asked.

"Which one?" Esme and Elizabeth asked together. I chuckled a little.

"Uh, um, Esme, please?" I didn't like calling her that. I'd always called her 'Mom' and I am not changing that, no matter what.

"Sure, hon." Elizabeth finally released me so I could go talk to Esme. I got up and led the way to the kitchen with her following.

"Mom," I sighed.

"I'm so, so, so very, very sorry, Edward, darling. I wanted to tell you, but I really didn't want you to stress out. I know how easily you do that. And you over think everything. Please forgive me, dear." She was rambling so I hushed her up with a tight hug.

"Mom, _Mom._ Calm down. It's okay. I will always be your son, no matter what. Sure, Elizabeth gave birth to me, but you've been my mother for twenty-five years. I know you're worried that I won't talk to you anymore, or that I'm going to start hating you now. But rest assured, that is _not_ the case. I love you, Mom. I always have and I always will." She was sobbing into my chest now. She looked up at me with tearful eyes. It was a sight that made my heart break. I quickly wiped away the tears and pressed a kiss on her cheek.

"I love you, Edward. Always know that I forever will." I squeezed her tighter.

"Well, let's go back in there, I suppose. But Mom?" I asked, and she looked up at me, silently telling me to go on. "I don't know if I can call them 'Mom' and 'Dad' straight off the bat. Do you think they'd mind that? I mean, I need some time to think over everything." Esme smiled.

"It's okay, Edward. They'll understand. Take as long as you need. Just meet up with them frequently. Let them into your life."

I nodded. "I'll be sure to do that. Thanks, Mommy." She laughed.

"You haven't called me that since you were 10." I smiled and shrugged. She hugged me again.

"Oh, and, I have something to share with you and Dad and my new … parents." Esme's eyebrows scrunched up, but she nodded anyhow.

We walked back into the living room and all eyes turned on us. I could tell by their expression that they'd heard everything we'd said in the kitchen. I sighed.

_Might as well get this over with._

"I have something to share with all of you," I announced. "Mom, please go sit down. I think everyone should be seated to hear this. After all, it isn't something you hear everyday."

Esme quickly nodded and went to sit on Carlisle's lap. "Proceed," she said.

I took a deep breath and spit it out, "I'm getting a divorce." Esme and Carlisle's eyes went wide. Elizabeth and Edward Sr. simply nodded since they knew this already.

"What? Why?" Carlisle asked. Before I could answer, however, Esme spoke up.

"Oh, Carlisle. Honey, we always knew they were wrong for each other. She's not the one I wanted Edward to be with anyhow. I had my eyes set on another girl for him. Too bad she's taken by that jerk . . ." I raised my eyebrows suspiciously and laughed simultaneously. My mother never used words like 'jerk.'

"And who might this girl be?" I asked.

"You don't know her, she's Jasper's sister."

"Bella?!" I asked, surprised.

"Wait, you know her?" Esme asked, confusion clear in her voice. I nodded.

"Anna and Jason go to the same pre-school. We met there. And . . . Mommy, I think I'm in love with her." Esme squealed.

"That is _wonderful!_" I laughed at her excitement. "Do you know how she feels about you?"

I shook my head sheepishly. "No," I muttered.

"Well, we'll find out soon enough." I rolled my eyes and sighed. There was no point in arguing. It never got us anywhere.

"Right. Well, I'm going to go home and get that divorce," I said happily. Everyone chuckled.

"I've never seen anyone so happy about a divorce before," Edward Sr. muttered. I smiled at him.

"Oh, right," I muttered when I remembered what I'd promised Esme I'd do. "Um, Elizabeth, Edward," I said hesitantly. They nodded, and so I went on, "Uh, I know I was supposed to be. . . bonding with you two currently. But could I call you guys tomorrow? I really want to get that divorce." They laughed, much to my surprise.

"Sure, son. Go get that divorce!" Edward said in a proud voice. It made me snicker. I nodded, nonetheless. We exchanged phone numbers and I promised to call them soon.

I walked out the door, went to my car, and drove home, not bothering to speed this one time. These were my last moments as a married man.

* * *

**AN: **So . . . That was about 200 words longer than the last chapter. Sorry, I just didn't feel like rambling like an idiot anymore . . . :) Hope ya understand!

**SO, my superduper reviewers, T**wilight-**i**s-**L**ovee's review goal is 235 reviews. Simple enough for you guys, huh? ;)

**J**amillia would like 200 reviews.

We love you! :D


	12. Say What?

_**Perfect Strangers**_

_**Chapter 11: Say What?!**_

**Disclaimer: We are extremely disappointed to have to admit to the fact that we do not own Twilight or Edward Cullen or Post-Its. :( Sad, isn't it?**

**AN (Twilight-is-Lovee): **Have I ever mentioned I fucking LOVE you guys!? You got me 258 reviews. I asked for 235. That's increasing my asking by TWENTY-THREE reviews! **I LOVE YOU!!!!!! **:) Sorry about all the excitement. I'm just really, really happy and grateful, guys!

**Announcements****:**

**Pictures of Bella and Jacob's current house and of Edward and Tanya's current house and of Carlisle and Esme's house are now up on my profile. Jamillia will put them up eventually.  
**

Thank you Horsewhisperer990 for reviewing _every_ chapter when you read it. :) (I know there's A LOT more of you that have done so, and I LOVE you for it, but Horsewhisperer990 read it all together [without waiting] and still reviewed every chapter.) **So thanks!  
**

Thank you Vivv for reviewing twice. I love it when you guys do that. If you guys want, you're free to review a million-zillion-zillion x-infinity times. Trust me, I won't mind. ;)

And Vivv, I HATE Algebra. I'm in Geometry right now. But I hated Algebra last year. Lol. I'm glad I made you scream in happiness. Lol. Also, GET A FANFICTION ACCOUNT! Lol. So we can talk normally! Haha.

Keys (The Devil's Little Angel) there's a surprise for you again. HAHA! Bet you already know what it is! Also, you NEED TO UPDATE. NOWWWWWWW! :)

**My 250****th**** reviewer was butterfinger45! :D  
**

AND! My favorite review from last chapter was from iloveeverythingtwilight. Actually, she sent it for Chapter 9 (the one where he meets Elizabeth and Edward Sr. at the park and then Esme faints when she sees them). But she sent it after the last chapter was already posted. SO YEAH! Well, here's the review:

_haha you'd think edward would be alittle bit smarter! haha her last name is MASEN! she has a son named EDWARD. hm whats your name? EDWARD anthony MASEN cullen:) love it!_

**I**t made me laugh out loud. xD

Also, I sincerely apologize for making these ANs SOOOOOOOO long. It's a drag reading them, I know. But I really wanna say these things . . . And yeah! :)

**ANYWAY! Onto the chapter!**

_**Sunday, October 5**__**th**__**, 2008**_

_Previously on 'Perfect Strangers:'_

_I walked out the door, went to my car, and drove home, not bothering to speed this one time. These were my last moments as a married man._

**EPOV**

I parked in front of the house, walked out, and jogged over to the trunk to receive all the groceries I'd bought this morning. I was so ecstatic about getting the divorce that I almost skipped to the front door. What an Alice-like thing to do. I unlocked the door and stepped inside, looking around the house for – hopefully – one of the last times.

"Tanya?" I called out. No answer.

_Huh. Interesting. Maybe she's not home . . ._

I walked into the kitchen and swiftly put away all the groceries. Then, I unpacked my newly acquired coffee maker and made some coffee for myself. While I was sipping at it, I looked around the kitchen. I really wanted to memorize this house before moving out of it. I spotted a post-it note on the fridge. I hadn't seen it there before so I went over to investigate. It explained why Tanya wasn't home.

_Eddioh -_

_Sorry Eddyboy. We're gunna hve 2 postpone tht divorce. I had 2 go 2 an emergency…business thingie mabob. Shouldnt be out later than 8. Luvv u not! _

_- Tanya._

I laughed while reading it. Tanya was just too much sometimes. I figured since I had to wait, I'd watch some football. I usually didn't watch it much, but I figured it was a way to pass my time. Much to my surprise, I actually got interested in the game and almost fell off the couch when the front door opened. I didn't realize I was leaning forward, toward the television. When I looked up, I saw Tanya laughing hysterically. She started laughing even harder when she saw my expression.

"Hey!" She managed to spit out between her laughter.

"Good evening, Tanya."

"Ready for that divorce chat, Eddio?"

I nodded.

"Yes, I am," I said. "Wait – _chat? _What do you mean? We already had the _chat_. It's time for you to sign the papers, Tanya. We agreed to it."

"So? Have I _ever_ been true to my word, darling Edward?" I looked at her dumbfounded. She could _not_ be saying what I thought she was saying.

"Are you seriously denying me the divorce? Tanya! It's my fucking right."

"Uh-huh, sure. Edward, listen. I don't want this marriage to end. I think we've found something special, don't you? I mean . . . We have an angelically perfect daughter, an amazing house, a lot of money . . . What else could we need?"

"_Love_, Tanya. We have no love! And very frankly, I don't want or need any love from you."

"Harsh, Ed."

"Sorry, _Ta_. But you wanted to know what was missing in our relationship, hence I told you," I said with a mocking smile.

"Very funny, Edward. But nothing's going to change my mind. I'm not signing those papers. Go to court or something if you want to be rid of me that bad." I sighed. I definitely wanted nothing to do with her any longer, but I didn't want to go to court. That would bring a lot of unnecessary media on our tails.

"Tanya, listen, I really, truly cannot be in this relationship with you. I mean . . . I have deep feelings for another woman, and I do not think it's fair to you if all of this continues. I do not feel cheating is right, therefore, I won't cheat on you, Tanya, but I really do wish you'd reconsider the divorce. Please?"

She sighed. "Edward, Eddie, Ed, Loverboy . . . So many names for you . . . You know? I think I like Loverboy best, but Ed—"

"_Tanya!_" I cut her off. She tended to go off topic and ramble. She had serious ADD. On our first and only night having sex, she got distracted by a 'shiny object.' I was angry about that for days, but there was nothing I could do about it.

"Whoops, sorry, Edward. Anyhow, today when I was at my – erm – business meeting, I was thinking. And I realized that I really do like you, kid. You're something special, you know that? And plus, screw the cheating bullshit. I've been cheating on you since the day you told me you weren't going to have sex with me again. I've had many men pleasure me in ways you never would, Edward. Mmmm . . ."

"Tanya. What. The. Fuck. First of all, I'm older than you. Secondly, _you've been cheating on me for three years?! _Are you fucking insane? What goes on in that damn head of yours, you dumb, blonde . . . _Bimbo!?"_

"Edward. Do. Not. Call. Me. A. _Bimbo!_ Understood? I am not fucking giving you a divorce; I don't want one. Got it? And secondly, I will fuck as many fucking guys as I fucking want to. Okay? Cause you don't control me kiddo. You're just some pretty, rich boy whose money I wanted. So, I married you. Call me a gold-digger if you want, because frankly, that's what I am. And today, I had no fucking business meeting. I was with my latest fuck. You happy now?"

I was fuming by the second sentence of her little rant, and the rest of it just made me angrier. I was about to yell my lungs out at her, but before I could utter so much as a word, the doorbell rang. I sighed and frustration and stormed over to the front door.

I opened the door with a glaringly obvious 'Daddy mad face,' as Anna likes to call it. I was ready to shout at the person who disturbed us from our crucially important, heated argument, but when I saw the people at the door, my anger immediately faded. On my porch stood Bella, Alice, and Anna. They looked at me with worry clear in their features, especially Bella's.

"What's wrong, Edward?" she asked with a strained voice, sounding as if my pain was causing her pain.

"Nothing, love." _Crap, there I go with the 'love' again. _"It's all fine."

"If you say so. But let me know if something's wrong, alright?" she said, looking deeply into my eyes. I nodded, then looked over at Alice. She was staring at Bella and me with wide eyes.

"What's going on between you two!?"

"Nothing, Alice," we both said in unison. Alice rolled her eyes and looked at me in a way that indicated that she knew better than to believe that. I sighed.

"Well, we must be going now," Bella said. "Jacob is probably wondering where I am."

"Bella," I said in a warning tone, a tone you'd use when scolding a child for doing something wrong. She looked at me with pleading eyes. I had a pretty good idea about what she wanted. She wanted me to keep this from Alice. I didn't like it, but I obliged anyway. To let her know of that, I simply nodded my head.

We said our goodbyes, and they left. I felt someone tugging on my pants and I looked down to see Anna clutching onto my pants while yawning deeply.

"Let's get you to bed, sweetie." She nodded her tiny little head, and I took her to her bedroom. I dressed her into her pajamas and hummed her to sleep.

After that was done, I went into Tanya and my bedroom to find her asleep already. Must've been tired from the day's fuck. I shook my head in disgust and left the room with a change of clothes. I went to the guest bedroom, changed into the pajamas I'd brought with me, and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

**BPOV**

When we left Edward's home, which was very large and beautiful – especially in comparison to mine – Alice drove me home.

The car ride was filled with silence. An uncomfortable one at that. When we reached my ratty, old house, I waved goodbye to Alice, and she was off to go home to my brother. I sighed. If only my life could be as simple as hers.

I walked up to the front door, taking my time, wanting to be away from Jake's wrath for as long as possible. I was glad Jase wasn't here with me, for I didn't want him to be hit as well. He'd called me from swim practice, asking if he could sleep over at his friend, Logan's house. I'd said 'yes,' of course, since I wanted him to be away from Jacob.

When I finally decided I'd taken long enough and couldn't delay any longer, I unlocked the door and walked in.

"Jake?" I called out cautiously.

No response.

Maybe he didn't come home again . . . That would be really nice.

But no such luck.

"You've been very naughty, Bella," he whispered from behind me. I froze. "I need to punish you for that, now don't I?"

I gulped and nodded my head, knowing I had to answer his question.

"Good, you agree. Let's get started, shall we?" I nodded again.

He moved his hand to the hem of my shirt and roughly pulled it off me. I knew he was already shirtless. He never bothered with a shirt when he was at home.

He harshly threw the shirt somewhere. It'd probably landed on the couch since that's where it always managed to land.

The next thing to go was, to my surprise, my bra. He'd never gone this far before. I hope he didn't plan on going all the way. I wasn't on the pill.

He threw the bra somewhere as well. It probably ended up on the couch, too.

He started kneading my breasts roughly. Then, he came in front of me and bit on my nipples. Hard. Then he sucked. Also hard. Then he pinched. Yep, hard.

"You like it when I do this to you?" I didn't know what to say to that, so I simply whimpered and let him make what he wanted to of it.

He pulled down my pants without unbuttoning them, making the button fly off and hit something with a small 'clack.'

My underwear went too.

When I was fully naked, he picked me up, ran my upstairs, and threw my on the bed. I fell with a loud 'thud.' I felt so . . . exposed. I'd never been fully naked in front of him. The most he'd gotten off me was my shirt and pants. Swiftly he got himself out of all his clothing, too.

That's when the beating began. He hit and spanked until I was hurting everywhere. At one point, he even got his belt out of the belt-loops in his jeans and hit me with them. I was surely going to be in a hell of a lot of pain the next morning.

"Bella, now we're going to try something new." I froze at those words. I hope he wasn't going to try to . . . _fuck_ me.

"W-w-what?"

"You're going to give me a blowjob. Right this instant." I didn't have time to think. He pushed me to the floor and sat down at the edge of the bed, his erection standing tall.

I cautiously put my mouth around it and started to swirl my tongue. I took all of him in my mouth. He honestly wasn't all that big. He tasted like pee. Not that I'd ever tasted pee, but I had a fairly good idea of what it'd taste like. Horrible.

Finally, after about 15 minutes of that torture, he came in my mouth.

"Swallow," he demanded. I had no option but to do so, so I did. And I never wanted to do it again. Except maybe to Edward . . . But that was an impossibility.

After I swallowed, Jacob picked me up off the floor, put my on the bed, and lay down, capturing me in his arms. I fell asleep like that, having horrible, horrible nightmares that night.

**AN: **Aren't you guys glad we finally got done with that Sunday? Lol. There were like . . . what? At least 4 chapters on just that, right? Haha. Wow. Anyhoo, is it just me, or are we all starting to hate the Jacob of this story even more now?

Whew.

**Review goal:**

**Twilight-is-Lovee: **Well, since you _are_ my superduper reviewers, think you can get me 290? Or 285, perhaps? It doesn't matter. I'm all happy, but I would _**love**_ getting that amount of reviews!

**Jamillia: **220 reviews, please?

We love you loads, guys!


	13. Perfect Houses and Hilarious Injuries

_**Perfect Strangers**_

_**Chapter 12: Perfect Houses and Hilarious Injuries**_

* * *

**Disclaimer: We are extremely disappointed to have to admit to the fact that we do not own Twilight or Edward Cullen or Post-Its. :( Sad, isn't it?**

* * *

**AN (Twilight-is-Lovee): **DUDE! I asked for what? 290? Guess how many I got! Like . . . 309! AAH! You're so amazing. You are making us feel so amazing. Lol. Cos our goal to reach 1,000 reviews actually seems possible now! xD

**Announcements:**

**1. Pictures of Bella and Jacob's current house and of Edward and Tanya's current house and of Carlisle and Esme's house are now up on my profile. Jamillia will put them up eventually. If the links don't work, PM me and I'll send them to you. I won't bite. ;)**

**2. **Oh! Vivv! Thanks for reviewing twice again! :DD Also, just make an FF account, you're only 2 months away from 13, right? So what? Lol. I know people that are like 10 and have a FF acct! And I'd love to hear your ideas. I love hearing everyone's ideas. They're always very interesting.

**3. **So, if anyone has any ideas for us, let us know! We're more than happy to hear them! - Er, read them. :)

4. Keys (The Devil's Little Angel) there's a surprise for you again. HAHA! Bet you already know what it is! Also, you NEED TO UPDATE. NOWWWWWWW! :)

**5. My 300th reviewer was Lindseyfair! :D Go read her stories. I love them. I'm reading one currently, and lemme tell ya, it's left me speechless. :)**

**6. **AND! She noticed something in the story that no one else did. She said:

_'I really like that you  
didn't have them get married before the baby was born. That really says  
something. Bet tayna would have thrown herself down a flight of stairs just to  
lose the baby if he would have married her first.'_

:D

**7. Lindsey, at the end of the chapter, don't forget to look for the ditch. . . And Jacob. Muahaha. ;)**

**8. SORRY FOR UPDATING A DAY LATE! :( I feel wretched about it.**

**9. Jamillia's still busy.**

**10. Sorry this chapter's sort of short. My friends are over for Halloween and whatnot. :)**

**11. **Also, I sincerely apologize for making these ANs SOOOOOOOO long. It's a drag reading them, I know. But I really wanna say these things . . . And yeah! :)

* * *

**ANYWAY! Onto the chapter!**

_**Friday, October 10th, 2008**_

_Previously on 'Perfect Strangers:'_

_Tanya refused to sign the divorce papers; Jacob forced Bella to give him a blowjob._

**EPOV**

I was done with Tanya. I didn't give a shit about if she wanted a divorce from me or not. I did and hell, I'd do anything to get it.

She refused to sign the papers; therefore, I refused to stay in that house any longer. Today was the day I was going out hunting for houses.

I had dropped Anna off to daycare and was supposed to be meeting a real estate agent in an hour. I had talked to her on the phone yesterday when I was online looking for some houses to view today.

Her name was Rosalie Hale. We were going to meet at 4500 Linger Road.

As soon as I'd dropped Anna off, I went to get some coffee for myself at Starbucks. I ordered my usual – of course.

After that was done, I drove off to meet Rosalie.

When I arrived there, I saw a red, convertible BMW waiting outside the house. The house took my breath away. It was gorgeous. Big and brown – made with bricks. I stepped outside my car, still in awe of the house.

"Hello, you must be Edward," a voice of a woman said, making me jump for a second. I was so mesmerized by the house that I didn't notice a blonde-haired woman, who I was assuming was Rosalie, was standing beside me.

"Yes, I am. And you must be Rosalie Hale. Nice to meet you," I said, extending an arm out. She shook my hand and smiled.

"You too. So, shall we get started? The agent of this house is waiting for us indoors." I nodded and followed her indoors.

Automatically, a blonde/brunette girl walked up to us. She was wearing a blue sweater dress with black leggings. She was pretty, and her mouth dropped when she saw me.

"You're gorgeous," she whispered. I chuckled and Rosalie cracked up.

"Thanks," I said.

"Y-you're welcome. I'm Hannah."

"I'm Edward, nice to meet you."

"You too," she whispered, still in a daze. I didn't see what girls found in me. I wasn't all that great looking.

"So, can we see the house?" Rosalie asked.

"Oh, right, duh," she stammered.

We took a grand tour of the house and I came to find it wasn't what I was looking for.

We thanked Hannah and walked out.

"Well, there's a lot of houses you chose, we could go look at them," Rosalie said.

"Sure. Where to next, Captain?" She laughed.

"We could go to 2355 Patty Cove."

"Okay," I said whilst nodding.

We drove over to Patty Cove, and the real estate agent there was pretty nice, yet she was very, very hyper.

"Hey!" she exclaimed as we walked in.

"Hello," Rosalie and I said in unison.

"I'm Pooja. You must be Rosalie Hale and Edward Cullen."

"Yes, nice to meet you," I said.

"The pleasure's all mine," Pooja said with a smile. "You have really nice hair, Edward." I was flattered by the number of compliments I was receiving all day.

We looked through the house, and I decided I didn't really like it all that much either.

Throughout the day, we looked and looked and didn't really like any of the houses.

All day, through the day, though, I got a lot of compliments. A girl named Laura said I had sexy shoulders. And a gay guy named Jonny Carloo said he wanted to have fun with me. That got a shudder out of me.

"Edward, there's one more house that I think you'll really like," Rosalie said at the end of the day.

"Sure, let's go to it."

We drove deep into a forest and around ten minutes into it, we saw a beautiful house that had at least three stories. I knew this was the house. We walked inside and looked around, and that made me even more positive of my decision. I didn't even bother placing a bid, I just bought it at the price it was at.

I had the perfect house. Life was starting to become better and better. Hopefully, no downfalls would get in my way.

**BPOV**

I was reading a bedtime story to Jason when I got a random call from the police station saying Jacob was drunk and found in a . . . ditch. It was really mean of me, but I couldn't help cracking up when I heard the news. I bet the police were worried about my sanity.

I noticed Jase was asleep too deeply to be waking up anytime soon, so I called my babysitter, Victoria, and left him at home with her.

I reached the police station, and they showed me a picture of Jacob in the ditch. It was _hilarious_. I was laughing louder than I had in years. He was naked and drunk. The sight was so funny that I begged for the picture. They said I could have it, and I even did a happy dance like Alice does when she gets what she wants – which is frequent.

I went to see Jacob in his cellar. He was asleep, and they decided to keep him there until Sunday morning. They said he had a broken arm and would have a cast put on it tomorrow. He wouldn't be able to use it for a few weeks. I laughed even harder at the news. He deserved it. Luckily for me, the broken arm was his right, the one he used to beat me with.

I was told to sign the papers, and then they said I was free to leave. And that's exactly what I did. I was laughing the entire car ride home. Jacob could do some hilariously dumb things sometimes.

* * *

**AN: **HAHA! So, there's the ditch scene for ya, Lindsey. Hope you all liked it! And, if you're Team Jacob, take no offense. He'll get something good outta this story, too.

**Review goal:**

**Twilight-is-Lovee: **Well, since you _are_ my superduper reviewers, think you can get me 340? Or 330, perhaps? It doesn't matter. I'm all happy, but I would _**love**_ getting that amount of reviews!

**Jamillia: **250 reviews, please?

We love you loads, guys!


	14. The Dinner, Part One

_**Perfect Strangers**_

_**Chapter 13: The Dinner, Part 1.**_

* * *

**Disclaimer: We are extremely disappointed to have to admit to the fact that we do not own Twilight or Edward Cullen or Post-Its. :( Sad, isn't it?**

* * *

**AN (Twilight-is-Lovee):** I'd like to thank my superduper reviewers, pretty much! And:

**1.** **Pictures of: **Bella and Jake's house; Edward and Tanya's house (the one he moved out of); Carlisle and Esme's house; Edward's new house; Alice and Jasper's house; and of Jason are now up on my profile. The links are all working, I promise. Lemme know if they aren't. Jamillia will put them up eventually.

**2.** Shout outs to: **Freakyhazeleyes **_and_ **KD Skywalker.  
Freakyhazeleyes **has these kickass stories that _everyone_ should read. Specially '_**Healing.**_' That story is AMAZING. Like, amazing is an understatement. Mhm. It's definitely one of my top favorites. xD Don't forget to R&R!  
**KD Skywalker **has some pretty amazing stories too. I'm her SB (sortabeta). She runs everything by me. Yeah, it cos I'm special like that. ;) Read her stories (and review)! Specially '_**Two of a Kind.**_'

**3. **The real estate agents in last chapter, Hannah and Pooja and Laura, were based on my friend and me and Jamillia. Hannah's my friend and Pooja's me and Laura's Jamilla. :) We're Edward-obsessed chicks. And Johnny Carloo is based off this gay guy from 6th grade. His name was Johnny Cason. And there's a longggggg story behind him.

**4. **Thank you to EVERYONE that reviews. Especially those of you who review every chapter. If you haven't done that, I'd LOVE it if you could. It makes my day, really. :) And gets me closer to my goal of 1,000 reviews.

**5. Sorry for the long ANs!**

* * *

**ANYWAY! Onto the chapter!**

_**Sunday, October 12th, 2008**_

_Previously on 'Perfect Strangers:'_

_Edward found a house; Jacob was found naked and drunk in a ditch. (HAHAHAHAHA!)_

**EPOV**

"Hello?"

"Edward?" Alice's voice sounded through the phone.

"Yeah, Alice. What's up?" I asked. I was in the middle of selecting a bedroom set for the master bedroom at my new house.

"Edward, we're having a family dinner party tonight at Jasper and my place. Will you come? Bring Tanya and Anna, too."

"I'm not bringing Tanya."

"Uh, Edward . . . Bella's going to be there . . . With . . . Jacob." I growled. I didn't like the sound of that Jacob creature being anywhere against my Bella.

_She's not yours!_ My thoughts yelled at me. Apparently, they were stuck at the You-Suck channel.

"Fine," I sighed. "I suppose I'll bring Tanya, too. What time do I need to be there?" Alice squealed.

"Yay! Be there promptly at 6:30. Thanks, Edward! You won't regret this, trust me," my seemingly-psychic pixie of a sister said.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that, Alice."

"But I would be, Deary."

I sighed.

"You're too much, you know that Alice?"

"I know!"

Then she hung up. No goodbyes or anything.

I continued searching for bedroom sets, but couldn't get my mind to concentrate. So instead, I went to Tanya's house, the house that used to be mine, and I suppose still is . . . But that's a matter for another time. I went there stripped off all my clothes and got in the shower. It was nice and hot. Relaxing.

I got out after around forty minutes in there, and got dressed quickly. It was five already and I still had to go pick-up Anna from the day-care center. Her's was the only one that was open on Sundays.

I strode out the door and to my car. I got in, buckled up, and started the car.

_Vroom vroom_, the car sounded. It was Anna's favorite part. She'd always make the sound whenever she was in the car with me.

I drove off to Forks Day-Care and quickly got Anna. The good thing was, she was already dressed in Alice-standards for dinner.

So, as soon as I got her, I drove to Tanya's modeling agency, hoping she'd be there, and not with today's fuck.

Thankfully for me, she was just leaving.

"Tanya," I yelled in her general direction. She swiveled and turned to face me.

"Edward? What are you doing here?"

"We have to go to Alice's for dinner. Hop in. We can come get your car from here later."

"Sure," she sighed.

She got in and I drove us to Alice's house. She and Jasper lived in a beautiful two-story house in a grand neighborhood. I arrived within minutes, and parked on the street. There were already many cars in the driveway.

I saw Bella exiting her car the moment I got out of mine. She noticed me at the same moment.

"Edward? What are you doing here?"

I noticed Jacob gripping her waist tightly. I was sure she'd have bruises from it later.

"Alice invited me. I'm her brother, remember?"

She laughed. "Right, I totally forgot. Well, let's go in, shall we?"

"We shall."

I looked at Tanya and she was glowing with jealousy. So was Jacob. Well, they deserved it.

We walked indoors and Alice yelled, "They're here!"

"Um. Why are you announcing our presence, Alice?"

"Because, Edward! They've all been waiting for you and Bella to get here already!" she exclaimed. "Plus, I'm your personal butler," she added sarcastically in a fake, yet very believable, British accent.

"Whatever, Alice."

Soon, everyone circled around us and Esme was eying the Bella and me. As if to see how we looked next to each other. After a moment, her expression turned satisfactory. I guess she decided we looked good together.

To my surprise, Elizabeth and Edward Sr. were there, as well.

I raised my eyebrows, shocked.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?" I asked, deciding on not calling them anything.

"Esme and Carlisle invited us, sweetheart," Elizabeth said. I nodded and hesitantly took her in my arms for a hug.

"Edward, can I borrow you for a second?" Alice asked.

"Sure thing, Sis." She took my hand and dragged me to her bedroom upstairs.

"What's going on?" she asked frantically. Alice hated not knowing things.

"What are you talking about, Alice? Nothing's going on."

"Oh, quit lying. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"No, I don't, Alice. Why don't you elaborate?" I did know what she was talking about, but I didn't want to admit to it until she asked me straight up. She sighed.

"Fine. Who are Elizabeth and Edward Sr.?"

"They're our parents' friends."

"Is that all?" she asked suspiciously. I figured I might as well give in to her. She wasn't going to stop bothering me about it until I told her. There was also the fact that she was my best friend. I sighed, giving into her request.

"No. That's not all."

"Dot, dot, dot, question mark." I laughed.

"Well . . . They're sort of . . . my . . ."

"Your what, Edward?" she asked, clearly getting impatient.

"My parents, Alice. They're my parents."

"No, Carlisle and Esme are your parents."

"Yes, but they aren't my biological parents," I said slowly.

"So . . . What you're saying is . . . You're . . . _adopted_?!" she yelled.

"Sh, hush. I don't want others to here yet. But . . .Yes, I am." I gave her a moment to let the news sink in. After all, it wasn't something you heard every day.

"Huh. No wonder Elizabeth has hair like you and Edward smiles crookedly, just like you do," she said after a few minutes.

"Yeah."

"So tell me. Why did they give you up for adoption?"

"Pretty much, Al . . . They didn't have a choice. I was unexpected and they couldn't afford to take me in. Carlisle delivered me because there was no other doctor available to do it, and when he heard of their situation, he decided to adopt me and raise me as his own. Esme agreed and since then, I've been their son." I let out a big 'whoosh' of air from my lungs after saying all that.

"Whoa. So . . . I'm not your real sister?" she squeaked, tears forming in her eyes. I took her in a hug and she sobbed onto my chest.

"Sh, it's okay, Ali. I always have been and always will be your brother. So what if we aren't blood? Our relationship is much stronger than that. You know that, right?"

She nodded. "But Edward, I was always jealous of you because our parents treated you more specially than they treated me. Or that's what I thought. Of course they treated us equally, they loved us equally. I was just the jealous younger sibling," she said, her voice sounding mumbled since her face was still buried in my chest. She sounded as if she were getting her thoughts together out loud. I was used to it. She'd done it our whole life.

"Are you okay to go downstairs now, Alice?" She nodded and sat up straight, taking a deep breath. She stood up and pulled me with her.

She hugged me tightly and said, "I love you, Big Bro."

"I love you, too, Little Sis."

She released me and I put my arm around her shoulder, leading her downstairs.

"What's wrong, honey?" Esme asked as soon as she saw the sight of Alice's face.

"Nothing, Mom. I love you," she said, going forward to hug a very confused Esme.

"I love you, too, hon. But would anyone like to explain to me what's brought on this sudden . . . emotion-fest? First, Edward calls me 'Mommy' and you hug me randomly, saying you love me?"

"Well, Mom, we've just learned some things that have surprised us," Alice said. Esme immediately understood.

"Oh, alright. Well, love, know I love both of you. Okay?"

"Oh, but you know you love me more, Mom," I interceded jokingly. Esme laughed and ruffled my already messy hair.

"Let me revise. I love you both _equally,_" she said.

"We know, Mommy," Alice and I said in unison.

"You've been saying the same thing to us since we were kids," I added. Esme smiled.

"Only because it's true."

I looked around, finally noticing everyone was watching us with awe in their eyes. With the exception of Jacob, Tanya, and Elizabeth. Jacob and Tanya looked disgusted, unsurprisingly. Elizabeth, however, looked wistful.

"Bella!" Alice suddenly called out.

"Hmm?" Bella answered.

"Let's get a-cookin'."

Bella laughed, "You better have all the ingredients this time, Alice."

"I bought the whole grocery store for you, Babe!" Alice replied.

Bella gave her a stern look. "Yeah, well, I hope the whole grocery store includes the stuff on the list I gave you. I don't want to have a repeat of last month."

"You won't. I promise, Bells." Bella nodded and went to the kitchen with Alice.

"What was all that about?"

"You know your sister can't cook at all. So, Bella helps her out every time she holds one of these get-togethers. She's a better cook than most professional chefs."

I nodded.

Bella truly was more than I could ever ask for in a girl.

* * *

**AN: **I hope you liked it. I tried to make it a tad longer than usual because I won't be updating again until Friday. :( See, Jamillia's super busy, and I have this Math thing to go to after school and won't be home till around 6:30. And of course, I'll have homework. Butttt, I might be able to sneak in a short chapter, if you guys want that. So, tell me. I don't mind posting a really short chapter on Thursday. So which will it be? Short chapter on Thursday, or no update till Friday? I'd go with the short chapter, because at least that's something . . . But that's just me. :)

**Review goal:**

**Twilight-is-Lovee: **Well, since you _are_ my superduper reviewers, think you can get me 380? Or 370, perhaps? It doesn't matter, but I would _**love**_ getting that amount of reviews!

**Jamillia: **260 reviews, please?

We love you loads, guys!


	15. The Dinner, Part Two

_**Perfect Strangers**_

_**Chapter 14: The Dinner, Part 2.**_

* * *

**Disclaimer: We are extremely disappointed to have to admit to the fact that we do not own Twilight or Edward Cullen. :( Sad, isn't it?**

**AN (Twilight-is-Lovee):** I'd like to thank my superduper reviewers, pretty much! And: OKAY! I asked for like 380 reviews! And you guys gave me 412!!!! AAAAAAH! I'm jumping up and down right now. I love you guys!

**1.** **Pictures of: **Bella and Jake's house; Edward and Tanya's house (the one he moved out of); Carlisle and Esme's house; Edward's new house; Alice and Jasper's house; and of Jason are now up on my profile. The links are all working, I promise. Lemme know if they aren't. Jamillia will put them up eventually.

**2.** Shout outs to: **Vivv. **And**.. **And **TwilightSagaLover543! R&R their stories! It'll make us all happy. Very, very, very HAPPY! Haha, sorry, I'm feeling jolly. xD**

**3. **Loulabelle was my 400th reviewer! Go you! Thanks for reviewing every chapter! AND! . was very close by being my 399th reviewer! Thanks! :)

**5. Sorry for the long ANs!**

**ANYWAY! Onto the chapter!**

* * *

_**Sunday, October 12th, 2008**_

_Previously on 'Perfect Strangers:'_

_The Dinner Part One. Alice found out about Edward being adopted; pretty much just some brother/sister/mother fluff. :)_

**EPOV**

We all walked into the living room and saw a blonde-haired girl straddling a brawny brown-haired man. It looked like they were seconds away from ripping each other's clothes off.

I looked over at Esme with my eyebrows furrowed in confusion and my head cocked to the side. I was about to ask her who the two people were, but she put a finger up to her lips and motioned for me to look at the couple. I sighed, doing as I was told.

I saw Jasper walking up to them and bending down.

"FIRE!" he yelled in their ear. They practically jumped apart, and everyone else laughed. By this time, Alice and Bella were back from the kitchen and were watching this intently. They started laughing as well.

"Whaa?" the man asked, scratching his head in confusion. The sight was so funny, I started laughing even harder.

"Edward?!" the blonde said. I only now looked at her face. What I saw surprised me.

"Rosalie Hale? What are you doing here?"

"I'm engaged to that goofball sitting over there," she explained, pointing to the muscle-man she was making out with earlier.

"Yo, dude. I'm Emmett," he said, coming up to me and shaking the hand I extended.

"Edward Cullen," I introduced myself.

"Ah, so you're the kid Esme won't shut up about."

"Emmett," Esme said in a warning tone.

"Sorry, Mother Earth," Emmett said. I looked at him, confusion clear on my face. "Esme's like a mother to all of us present here. Well, except Elizabeth and Edward, of course . . . Because that would be awkward." I laughed at him.

"Awkward, indeed. So you are . . .?"

"Bella and Jazzy's brother," he said, saying 'Jazzy' the way my sister says it, all girly.

I laughed again, while Jasper, who I noticed standing in a corner, grimaced. Alice came up and smacked Emmett on the back of his head.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, enough of this fluff-fest, mk?" Tanya asked. I shot her a glare.

"Alice, why don't explain to me why you asked me to bring her?" I asked.

"Well . . . Jacob was coming, and I didn't want you to be the odd-man-out." I sighed. I wanted to yell at her for letting Jacob into her house, but then I realized she knew nothing about him beating Bella.

"You know, you're really rude, Edward," Tanya said. "Just because I denied you the divorce, you're being all bitchy and stuff."

"Tanya, let's not get into that right now," I said, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Wait, Edward, you never told me you had a wife when you were buying the house yesterday . . ." Rosalie said.

"Right, because I'm trying hard to get over the fact Tanya is my wife. Besides, I'm not going to be living with her for too long, anyhow. Anna and I are going to move into that house, while Tanya can live in our current house," I explained.

"YOU BOUGHT A HOUSE WITHOUT TELLING ME?!" Tanya screeched.

"Yes," I replied simply.

Tanya stormed off. I shrugged, looking around the room.

"Where's Anna? And Jason?" I asked, noticing they weren't in the room with us.

"They're off playing something," Bella answered. I looked over at her and smiled. She replied to my smile with one her own.

Jacob squinted his eyes at us.

"What's going on between you two?" he asked in a menacing voice. I ground my teeth together, trying hard not to go over to him and beat the snot out of him.

"Nothing's going on, Jacob," Bella answered worriedly when she saw the murderous look on my face. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself.

Jacob raised his eyebrow at her, but otherwise let it go.

I noticed everyone was looking at our exchange with worry in their eyes.

"Hey, Bella?" Alice asked.

"Yeah?"

"Come with me for a second." Bella nodded her head warily and followed my sister up the steps.

**BPOV**

"Hey, Bella?" Alice asked suddenly, pulling me out of my thoughts of what I'd have to suffer at home that night.

"Yeah?"

"Come with me for a second," she said discreetly. I nodded warily and followed the pixie upstairs, to her bedroom.

When we got there, she pushed me down on the bed and stared at me intently.

"Spill."

"About what?" I asked.

"You know what."

"Alice, I have no idea what you're talking about," I said innocently.

"Okay, let me explain this to you slowly. Why . . . Did . . . My . . . Brother . . . Get . . . So . . . Angry . . . When . . . Your douche-bag boyfriend whom I hate . . . Asked . . . if . . . there . . . was . . . something . . . going on . . . between you two!?" Alice spoke as if she were talking to a five-year old instead of a twenty-five year old.

I sighed. I knew Alice would not give up until I told her. Therefore, I decided I might as well be honest.

"Alice . . . Okay, it's because he knows something no one else knows."

"You're hiding things from your best friend and telling them to the _brother_ of your aforementioned best friend?"

"Sorry, Al. You know I love you, but I couldn't tell you this. I told him because he shared a very important secret with me."

"Okay, okay, I forgive you. But _now_ will you tell me?" she asked exasperatedly. I nodded.

"Yes. Yes, I will." I took a deep breath to prepare myself for Alice's reaction when I told her the inevitable. "Alice . . . Do. Not. Get. Angry. Well, don't get too angry. Keep your cool when I tell you this, okay?"

"Yes, Mom," she whined jokingly.

"Alice, this is no joking matter," I said, half-seriously. We laughed a little at that.

"Now, will you please stop delaying the matter, Bella?" I took a deep breath and nodded.

"The reason Edward got angry was because he knows a secret about Jacob that I've never told anyone but him. And now you."

She nodded and motioned with her hands for me to go on.

"He knows that . . . That Jacob does something to me that is illegal. At least, I'm pretty sure it's illegal. I've never bothered to look it up. But I should, huh?"

"Look what up? What are you hiding. _Stop delaying the matter_!"

"Jacob beats me. And sometimes Jason."

"Isabella Marie Swan. Of course that's illegal. Are you a nutcase? It's child abuse! And you're not a child, of course, but beating you is abuse, too! We could very well file a report against that asshole! Can we, Bella? Please? It'd make me sleep peacefully knowing you're away from that douche. And I know Edward would be relieved. That man has got the hots for you," Alice said, all in one breath.

"No, we cannot file a report against Jacob, Alice. That would be inhumane. And Edward does not have 'the hots' for me. I only wish." I said the last sentence super-fast, hoping Alice wouldn't hear it. Of course, no such luck. Her eyes widened and she starting speaking.

"First of all, what Jacob does to you is worse than inhumane. It's not even . . . I don't know, but it's something I doubt even animals consider appropriate. And secondly, _oh my God!_ You love my brother, don't you?!"

"Whatever, Alice. We're not filing a report against him. And I – I don't love your brother," I lied.

"Yeah, you do. I can tell when you're lying."

"F-fine. I do love your brother. Are you happy? I love Edward Cullen. But I can't do anything about that. Not while he's married and I'm in a relationship."

"Ah, but you both don't want to be in the relationships you're in."

"That doesn't matter."

"Whatever you say. All I know is that you love him, he loves you, and you two _will _be together."

"If you say so," I said, but I knew never to bet against Alice. The little pixie knew everything.

"I do say so, and now it's time for me to go kick some Jacob-ass!" she exclaimed and bolted out of the room before I even had time to process the words.

"Wait! No! _Alice,_" I whined, running after her.

I, being myself, tripped down the stairs. Thankfully, two arms grabbed me at my waist before I could hit the floor. I looked up at my savior and saw no other than Edward.

"Thanks," I said breathlessly, getting lost in his eyes. He smirked.

"You're welcome." I suddenly realized what had made me run down the stairs in the first place.

"Shit. Where's Alice?"

"Don't worry, I tamed her before she could kill him," Edward responded.

"Thanks."

"Anytime. So what made you tell her?"

"How do you know what I told her?"

"Because as soon as she sprinted down here, she shot death-glares at Jacob. He actually looked scared of her for a minute. She started to storm her way towards him, but I grabbed her before she could do any damage." I laughed.

"Alice will be Alice," I said. He nodded his agreement. I looked around and saw no one was around us.

"Why did you tell her?" he asked again, rewording his question.

"Because your sister scares me."

He laughed.

"Ah, I get it. That shorty sure can be a devil when she wants, huh?"

"Yeah," I said, too lost in his eyes to speak coherently.

"Well, we better go she what she's doing. We don't want her to plot against Jacob, do we?"

I laughed.

"We sure don't. Even though it would be fun to see Jacob get beaten up for once," I said only half-jokingly. He winced.

I put my hand on his cheek, hoping to comfort him. He leaned his face into my palm.

"Hey, Edward, it's okay. No big deal. I'm used to it."

"But Bella, I don't like it. It pains me to see you hurting so much."

"I don't see why it matters to you that much." That made his sad demeanor go away. Instead came out an Edward I'd never seen before. He looked furious.

"How could you think it wouldn't matter to me?! Bella, I—" He was cut off by Alice's yelling.

"Edward, Mom needs you to . . ." she trailed off when she saw my hand on Edward's cheek. "Shit. This is a bad time, isn't it? Shit, shit, shit. I'm so sorry. I'll leave now," she said, scurrying off.

"I – I should go see what Esme needs," Edward said, leaving me standing there speechless.

For a second I thought he was going to tell me he loved me. But of course, no such luck.

* * *

**AN: **Sorry if this chapter sucked. I've been sick-ish and I really wanted to get this chapter out, so yeah. Hope I didn't disappoint!

Did anyone like BPOV? Because I just cannot seem to stay away from EPOV; it's my favorite . . . And Jamillia usually writes all the BPOVs . . . And she's been super busy lately; she hasn't even read the previous few chapters. LoL. So yeah. . . I just hope my BPOV was satisfying.

And, also, expect a BAMBAMBAM surprise next chapter! Trust me, you'll like it. I know I do! :)

Oh and, this chapter was 7 Word-pages long, including the ANs! :)

**Review goals:**

**Twilight-is-Lovee: **Dear superduper reviewers, think you can get me 440? Or 435, perhaps? It doesn't matter, but I would _**love**_ getting that amount of reviews!

**Jamillia: **290 reviews, please?

We love you loads, guys!Bottom of Form


	16. The Dinner, Part Three

**_Perfect Strangers._**

**_15. The Dinner, Part Three._**

* * *

_**Disclaimer**__**:**_** Yeah, I still don't own Twilight. I never will. Humph. **

* * *

_**AN (Twilight-is-Lovee)**_**: **Whoop whoop! Once again, I love you, my SuperDuper Reviewers! I'm gonna call you guys my SDRs, okay? Anyhoo, I asked for 440. And you gave me 468! ILY (in a friend on FanFiction way)! ;)

_**Big Thanks To**_**: Bibliocrazed: **Girl, it sucks that FF didn't let you review the previous chapter. But ily for PM-ing me your review! :) And thanks for giving me the idea about Jacob . . . ;)  
**D.J.: **Awe, thank you so much! :) I'm glad you love my story and my writing so much! I really appreciate that. You should get a FF account so we can talk through that. :)  
**Kbarksdale: **Your review was HILARIOUS! I loved how you liked my story so much! When I saw your review, I was like, "Whoaa. My story's big. *squeals*" Haha. So thank you for getting that reaction outta me. :DD And do you have a Fanfiction account? I think you do, because I saw one with your 'penname' and I thinkkk that's you, but eh, Idk. Lemme know if it is! :D

**Read 'The Joker' by TayBee! Mhm, do it. **It's her first fanfiction. And it's amazing. SO funny! Even though I, being myself, didn't understand some jokes. But it's because I'm the slowest smart person you'll ever meet – er, talk to. Haha.** :)  
And read her new story too! :D**

**ninjanoni** is my 450th reviewer! Thanks for reviewing. I'm pretty sure you reviewed all the chapters!

* * *

**Anyhoo, onto the story!**

* * *

_**Sunday, October 12**__**th**__**, 2008**_

_Previously on 'Perfect Strangers':_

_Emmett and Rosalie are finally really into the story; Alice finds out about Jason and Bella being abused by Jacob; Jacob gets scared of Alice; Edward almost confesses his love to Bella. WHOOT!_

**EPOV**

_Idiot. Idiot, idiot, idiot. Bloody idiot! _I cursed myself as I walked toward the kitchen. I was so angry at myself for almost revealing to Bella that I was in love with her. I mean, how could I do that? That would be . . . amazing, life-changing, relieving. For me. But for her? For her it'd be something drastic, horrible, repulsive. I doubt she has any feelings for me. She's too busy with _Jacob Black. Ugh. That bloody dog._ I couldn't believe she was still with him. After all he's done. He fucking beat her. So, so much. She had so many mother fucking _bruises!_

I decided I'd stop worrying about it for now. But this situation . . . It caused me great pain. One sign of that was my cursing. I didn't curse _much_ unless I was in a hell of a lot of stress. Last time I cursed an excessive amount was when I found out I was adopted.

But this situation with Bella—

"Earth to Edwarrrdddd!" Alice sang, waving her hand in front of my face, effectively bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"Sorry for ridding you of the horrible thoughts you were having, but we sort of need your help," Alice said, as chirpy as always.

"How do you know I was have a daymare?" I asked, using the word Alice used to describe situations like mine.

She giggled. "You had a grimace on your face, Edward. I think I, as your sister, know that's not how your face usually is."

"Whatever. What did you need my help with, Alice?"

"Not me – Mom," she said, turning to point at Esme. My mother was sitting on the counter, rubbing her forehead with one hand. Elizabeth was comfortingly rubbing her shoulder.

"Yeah, Mom?"

"Edward, Alice and I want to make Bella a bouquet of flowers for all she does," Esme said. I snorted and laughed.

"And you're this stressed out about it?"

"It's no joking matter, Edward. What's Bella's favorite flower? We kind of forgot," Alice said impatiently.

"I don't know," I said with a shrug. "But I think you should give her Freesias. Something about Bella reminds me of them . . ."

"If you say so. Apparently you know her better than any of us do," Alice said while squinting her eyes evilly. I knew she was mad at me because Bella chose to trust me with her secret.

"Stop being petty, Alice," I said and walked out of the door.

I went to the living room where the guys, Emmett, Jasper, Carlisle, Edward Sr., and even Jacob, were watching football.

I sat with them for a while, and soon, Bella and Alice came out with appetizers.

They were cooked by Bella, and were the best appetizers I'd ever tasted. Of course, I was slightly biased, but I'm sure the others liked them just as much.

The appetizers were gone quicker than I would've thought possible.

Suddenly, Alice yelled, "TRUTH OR DARE TIME! Spin the bottle style!"

"What in the world has gotten into your head, you little pixie?" Emmett asked, rhetorically, I'm assuming. But with Emmett, there's no way to really be sure about anything.

Alice stuck her tongue out. "Shut up, Brother Bear." Emmett laughed like a little kid. Then, he stuck his chest out, trying to look manlier.

"Damn right!" he said in a very, very deep voice.

"Come to the basement right now. We're going to act like high school students by playing Truth or Dare – Spin the Bottle Edition!" Alice exclaimed.

"Yo, Shorty!" Emmett yelled.

"Yeah?"

"Bring some snacks, I'm hungry."

"Emmett, you _just_ ate," Alice muttered, "I'm surprised you're not the fattest man on Earth. You'd think one who eats as much as you would have at least a little fat. But no. You're all muscle."

I laughed. "He burns all the fat he eats, Alice."

"You would know, Mr. Doctor."

I shrugged.

Alice got some snacks for all of us, while Bella and I grabbed drinks for everyone.

Jasper led us to the basement, and Alice instructed us to form a circle and sit.

Not wanting to face the wrath of Alice, we all did as were told. I sat next to Bella, who sat next to Alice. Beside Alice were Jasper, then Jacob, then Tanya, then Emmett, and then back on the other side of me was Rosalie.

Suddenly, Tanya's phone rang. She held up a finger to us, obviously wanting us to shut up while she was talking.

"Leonie, darling! Hello," she said into the phone. Leonie was her manager.

She nodded and rolled her eyes and replied to some questions Leonie asked.

"Of course. Tomorrow? . . . Yeah. Sure . . . I'll see you then! Buh-bye now. Take care . . . Yep . . . Hugs and kisses to you too!" Then she hung up.

Alice, looking annoyed, took an empty beer bottle and set it in the middle of the floor. She spun it, and it spun and spun and spun. Finally, it landed on Jacob.

"Alright, Jacob. Truth or dare?" Alice asked, her voice menacing.

"Um . . . Truth?" He sounded afraid, as he should.

"Tell us something you haven't ever told Bella before," Alice said, keeping her voice creepy.

"Um, well, Bella, I've sort of . . . Cheated on you," he said with a wince. He was a pretty good actor, but I could see through it. Behind that wince, he was laughing, daring Bella to say anything. For if she did, he'd hit her later tonight.

"Alright," Bella whispered. My heart broke at the sight of her face. She looked torn, as if her heart had been ripped further than it already was. I knew she was feeling like she wasn't good enough.

I wanted nothing more than to take her in my arms and comfort her, but I knew that wouldn't go over too well with Jacob. And possibly Tanya. But I really couldn't care less about her.

Jacob spun the bottle and it landed on Tanya.

_Shocker there, _I thought sarcastically.

"Truth or dare, Tanya?" Jacob asked.

"Dare."

"I dare you to trade shirts with Bella."

Everyone's jaws dropped at Jacob's dare, but no one said anything. Bella looked embarrassed, and Tanya looked disgusted. Bella was wearing a spaghetti sleeved yellow shirt, no doubt of Alice's choice. Tanya was wearing a dark blue halter top that exposed more of her breast than anyone really wanted to see. They stood up, went to the middle, took off their shirts, and exchanged them. Topless Bella was a sight to see. I couldn't help but to ogle. Even though she had bruises covering every inch of her skin, her flat stomach and beautiful breasts made her look absolutely perfect.

Suddenly, I heard two gasps. I didn't need to be a mind reader to know why Emmett and Jasper gasped. They'd both very obviously seen the bruises covering their sister's upper-half.

"Who did that to you!?" Emmett boomed. Jacob looked angry, yet guilty.

"Er – I tripped," Bella answered.

"You fucking suck at lying, Bella. Who. Did. That. To you!?"

"No one, Em."

"Bella," he said in a warning tone.

"Let it go, Emmett. She'll tell us when she's ready," I interceded. I could tell this was hard on Bella, and she really didn't need anything else to worry about.

She threw me a grateful glance, and I smiled at her.

By this point, both Bella and Tanya had worn each other's shirts and were sitting down in their original spots. I couldn't keep my eyes off Bella. That shade of blue looked lovely on her, and she didn't look anywhere close to as slutty as Tanya had in the shirt. In fact, Bella looked like an angel.

"My turn to spin!" Tanya yelled. Without waiting for anyone to say anything, she spun the bottle. It landed on Alice, and my sister squealed.

"Dare!" she yelled.

"I dare you to break your favorite pair of sunglasses." That was low, even for Tanya. She knew how much Alice treasured her fashion. I shook my head disappointedly at Tanya. She shrugged.

Alice was almost in tears, but she put on a brave face, went upstairs, and got her glasses. She went really close to Tanya's face and when the sunglasses were about an inch away from her eyes, Alice snapped them in half. Then she grinned, proud of herself.

She sat down beside Jasper, took the bottle and spun it. It landed on Bella.

"Truth," she said.

"Okay then," Alice said, putting her finger to her chin, looking thoughtful. Suddenly, her eyes brightened up more than usual, and she said, "Do you truly love Jacob?"

"No," Bella whispered quietly. It looked like Jacob was going to beat the shit out of her right then and there, but he managed to control himself. I, however, felt like I was on Cloud 9. Bella didn't love Jacob. That meant I still had a chance. Maybe. But at least she didn't love the mongrel.

In a hurry to move on from this topic, Bella spun the bottle, and it somehow landed on Emmett, who was busy making out with Rosalie.

"EMMETT!" I yelled. I'd only known him for a few hours, but felt as comfortable with him as I would if I'd known him my entire life.

"Huh? Whaa?" he asked incoherently, breaking apart from the kiss.

"Truth or dare?" Bella asked him.

"Dare. Always, always dare. You know that, Little Sis." Bella rolled her eyes.

"I dare you to . . . go the entire game without touching Rosalie," she said. Rosalie laughed, but Emmett's expression was priceless. He looked as if he were a three year old on Christmas morning, but Santa gave him no presents. Everyone laughed at him, even Jacob and Tanya joined in. It was too hilarious to pass up.

"Fine," he grumbled. "I'll get you back, though, Bella. Remember, payback's a bitch."

"Whatever, Em," Bella muttered, rolling her gorgeous eyes.

"Yeah, whatever's right! Mmmhmmm!" Emmett said, acting . . . Like a wannabe gangster. There was no other way to put it. He even snapped his fingers in the 'Z' formation.

I burst out laughing again. So did Bella and everyone else.

"Emmett, maybe you should just spin the bottle now . . ." Alice suggested.

"Fine, fine," he mumbled.

He spun the bottle; it landed on me.

"Dare," I said.

"Okay. Time for your payback, Bells," Emmett said. Bella looked as confused as I felt.

"How is my payback related to Edward's dare?" she asked.

"You'll see, Kiddo," he said mysteriously. Then he became his hyperactive self and said, "Eddy!" I groaned at the nickname. "I dare you to take Bella into the closet and play a little game of Seven Minutes in Heaven. I'm sure you've heard of it, right?"

My jaw dropped. From my peripheral view, I saw Bella's drop too. I was too shocked to notice anyone else's reaction. But I'm sure everyone but Alice was very surprised. Alice would probably be jumping in joy. I thought I heard someone choking. It sounded like Jacob. I would've laughed, but I was still too dazed.

"Go, Edward. Take her to the closet," Tanya said. I was surprises she spoke so calmly about it.

"Yeah, go with him, Bella. I cheated on you, I'm giving you the freedom to do so, too," Jacob said once he'd regained composure. Then, through gritted teeth, he said, "But just this once."

I sighed, stood up, and offered my hand to Bella. She took it with some hesitation, and I led her to the only closet in Alice and Jasper's basement.

We sat in the dark closet, completely silent for a few minutes, until Bella spoke up.

"So . . ."

"So," I sighed.

"I need to tell you something," we said in unison. Then we laughed. "You first," we said, again at the same time.

"You first, Edward," she said before I could say anything. I sighed and nodded.

"Bella . . . I've wanted to tell you something since the moment I saw you. And now, I'm going to stop chickening out, and say it." I took a deep breath and continued, "Bella, I love you. I have loved you since the moment you bumped into me at the pre-school. I know for a fact I will never stop loving you. I haven't ever felt like this before. And, as cheesy as this may sound, whenever I see you, I see stars. Whenever I touch you, I feel sparks. This is real, Bella. It's true. I love you."

"I – I love you, too."

* * *

**AN: ***squeals!!!!!* The last part, where they confess their love was the 'BAMBAMBAM surprise' that everyone was wondering about. :) Who's as excited as I am? I'm not all that proud of this chapter, but Alice wanted a game of Truth or Dare, and so she got it. I hope I didn't disappoint. Originally, they were supposed to say 'I love you' to each other in the kitchen . . . If anyone wants to know exactly how it was to happen, tell me in a review, and I'll let you know. :) But, I hope you guys liked this . . . I thought 'Seven Minutes in Heaven' would make things a little more interesting . . . And remember, there's A LOT more left in the night. They haven't even had dinner yet! ;))

**AND! **I'm pretty sure this is the **longest chapter yet!!!**

* * *

**Review goal:**

**Twilight-is-Lovee: **Think we can get to **500**? It's okay if we don't . . . But I need 32 reviews to get there . . . And if I know you guys, I'm sure you can get me them! Please? I love you guys!

**Jamillia: 320** reviews, please? :)


	17. The Dinner, Part Four

**_Perfect Strangers._**

**_16. The Dinner, Part Four._**

* * *

_**Disclaimer**__**:**_** Yeah, I still don't own Twilight. I never will. Humph. It does, and always will, belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

* * *

_**AN (Twilight-is-Lovee)**_**: **I. Love. You. My SDRs!! If you haven't caught on yet, it stands for Super Duper Reviewers! :D I ask for 500, and you give me 526. I fucking love you guys! Excuse my language. Lol.

**Bibliocrazed: **Ugh, it sucks how FF didn't let you review _again. _But thanks for PMing me your review anyway! :D

**K(dot)Nowicki: **MY** 500****th **REVIEWER!!!!** Thanks!!! **And thanks for reviewing every chapter!! And thanks for reviewing an extra time just so I could get 500 reviews. That makes you ROCKKKKKKKKK in my book! :D And I love how my story made you stay up late and read it. I've always wanted my story to have that effect on people, and now I'm practically bouncing off the walls because it does!

**READ 'True Love Waits' by iloveeverythingtwilight. Do it. :)**

* * *

**Anyhoo, onto the story!**

* * *

_**Sunday, October 12**__**th**__**, 2008**_

_Previously on 'Perfect Strangers':_

_They all play Truth or Dare. The only really important thing was that Jacob cheated on Bella, Bella doesn't love Jacob, and Edward and Bella have to play 'Seven Minutes in Heaven.'_

"_Bella . . . I've wanted to tell you something since the moment I saw you. And now, I'm going to stop chickening out, and say it." I took a deep breath and continued, "Bella, I love you. I have loved you since the moment you bumped into me at the pre-school. I know for a fact I will never stop loving you. I haven't ever felt like this before. And, as cheesy as this may sound, whenever I see you, I see stars. Whenever I touch you, I feel sparks. This is real, Bella. It's true. I love you."_

"_I – I love you, too."_

**EPOV**

"I – I love you, too."

_Did she just say that? What? She . . . loves me? This isn't wretched to her? Whoa. _I was practically bouncing off the walls when I heard that. I knew I had a humongous, goofy grin on my face, but I couldn't seem to care.

"Do you mean it, Bella?" I asked, still internally celebrating.

"Well, yeah . . . I've loved you since that day, too. I was afraid, though, because I thought you wouldn't reciprocate the feelings. I mean, look at you, and look at me. You're the epitome of perfection. And I'm . . . not," she whispered.

"Bella, you have no idea how much better than me you are. _You _are the epitome of perfection. Not me. Not anyone else. You, Bella. You're the most beautiful creature to have ever walked this earth. You're the kindest, sweetest, most amazing human being there is. I want to beat the shit out of Jacob for hurting you and making you feel the way you do. Bella, _you are perfect_." And it was the truth. She was being simply silly.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head.

"Bella, I cannot tell you enough how—" I started saying, trying to convince her, but she cut me off.

"Oh, just shut up and kiss me," she blurted out. Then, realizing what she'd said, she blushed. I smiled at her, my annoying crooked smile that everyone seemed to love. She blushed even further.

I didn't waste another moment. I slowly leaned forward, as did she. Our lips touched and I felt like I was flying. Our lips danced together in perfect harmony, and I clutched her waist, pulling her closer to me. Her hands tangled themselves in my hair, and I knew that moment was picture perfect.

Her tongue snuck out and traced my bottom lip, asking for entrance. I gladly opened my mouth and our tongues met. I explored her mouth just as she examined mine. I was in heaven.

Too soon, however, she pulled away, gasping for air. I was breathing heavy, as well. She was a _much _better kisser than Tanya could ever hope to be.

I put my hand on her cheek, rubbing it softly with my thumb.

"I love you, Bella," I whispered. I could never tire of saying it.

She smiled. "I love you too, Edward. More than you can imagine."

I leaned in to kiss her once more.

When we pulled apart, the door to the closet opened, revealing a brooding Jacob.

"Time to get out of here, Bella," he said menacingly. Bella shrunk back, but I stood up.

"I'm not done in here yet, buddy," I said to him, my tone just as menacing, if not more, than his. He squinted his eyes and tried to push past me. One would think a closet would be too small for three people, but Alice's closet was much, much bigger than most.

I pushed Jacob out and shut the door. I could practically hear him fuming outside, but all I could do was laugh. However, when I saw the look on Bella's face, all my laughter subsided. She looked absolutely terrified. She was whimpering, almost on the verge of tears.

I sat down and took her in my arms.

"Shh," I whispered, "It's going to be okay. It'll all work out. He won't harm you any longer."

She started sobbing.

"Bella, please don't cry. I cannot bear to see you cry, love." Thankfully, she slowly stopped crying. I wiped away her tears with my thumbs.

Suddenly, she seemingly realized something. Almost as if she had had an epiphany.

"Oh!" she exclaimed.

"What, love?" She smiled.

"I finally understand why you always call me 'love,'" she said.

"Oh? And why's that?" I asked playfully.

"Because you love me," she marveled. "And I love you."

"I do, with my entire entity."

She obviously liked my words, for she practically pounced on me, kissing me with more passion than I'd ever experienced. I kissed her back just as passionately.

We broke apart when we heard something outside the door. It sounded an awful lot like Alice.

"Shit, they heard us," I heard her whisper.

I sighed and stood up, offering Bella my hand. She took it, and I helped her up. I wrapped my arm around her waist and opened the door. The sight outside was hilarious. Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie were outside the door, crouching on the floor, leaning against the wall.

"Ahem!" I said.

"Yes, Edward?" Alice asked innocently.

"What all did you hear?"

"Oh, um, just the part where you two said you loved each other!" she exclaimed with a squeal. Then she faced Jasper. "Jazzy-Poo, didn't I tell you tonight was the night they were going to get together?"

"Yes, sweetie, you did." She smiled and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips.

"Anyhoo, Edward, Bella . . . FINALLY! I'm so excited for you both. I knew, I knew, I knewwwwwwwww you loved each other," she sang.

"Are you on crack?" Bella asked, making us all laugh. With the exception of Alice, of course.

"No, I'm just happy that my brother and best friend are finally a couple! Is that so bad? Of course, we all knew you were going to end up together. Even Mom and Dad and Elizabeth and Edward Sr. knew! Especially after tonight. We all saw you eyeing each other all night. And don't try to deny it, because you know it's true," Alice said with a triumphant smile.

Bella blushed. I leaned down and kissed her cheek. When I looked up, Alice and Rosalie were looking at us with googly eyes.

"You two are _so adorable!_" Rosalie said. Well, I guess that explained why they had those looks on their faces.

"Hey, um, Edward?" Bella asked.

"Yeah, love?" Rosalie and Alice 'awed.' I sighed in frustration, sending them both an annoyed glare.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Bella asked. Then, looking around us, she added, "Privately."

I nodded.

"Don't have to be like that, Sis. Just ask us to get our butts out of here, and we'll leave," Emmett said. Bella and I laughed.

"Okay, Em. Get your butts out of here," she said sweetly. The all laughed at Emmett's dumbstruck expression and left. Apparently, Bella didn't usually act this . . . blunt.

Once they were gone, I asked, "So . . . What did you have to talk to me about?"

"Two things," Bella said.

"Proceed."

"First of all, about what Alice said . . . Are we – Are we a couple?" I thought about it for a second.

"I'd like that more than anything else, but I don't feel that cheating on Jacob and Tanya is right. Even if they've done it to us."

"Wait! Tanya's cheated on you?"

"Yeah. She has a lot of, as she calls them, 'fuck buddies.'"

"Whoa," Bella breathed. I nodded. "So, we wait until we're out of our relationships?"

"Well, Bella, it's really up to you. I've already given Tanya the divorce; I just need her to sign the papers. But you have yet to deal with Jacob," I said seriously.

"Edward. . . I'm afraid. What if he does something? I don't want him to hurt me again. I'm scared, Edward. I'm scared," she whimpered. I enveloped her in my arms.

"Bella, love, no one will hurt you anymore. I promise. But you must tell me you won't go home with him tonight. You cannot go home with that mongrel. For if you do, I'm afraid he'll hurt you. And if he does, I might have to kill that asshole."

"But, I have to. I have nowhere else to go," she mumbled into my chest. I could tell she was about to cry, and it broke my heart. I ran my hands through her hair, trying to soothe her.

"Shh, don't cry, sweetheart. Please, don't. It hurts me more than you can possibly imagine," I said. "And don't worry. You can spend the night at my house. And then tomorrow morning, we can go to your house in the morning and kick Jacob out. How does that sound?"

"I can't impose, Edward. And I really don't think your wife would like it very much if _I _stayed at your house."

"She doesn't care at all, Bella. I assure you of that."

"Are you sure it's okay, Edward?"

"Yeah, and as much as I really hate to say this . . . Anna will love to have Jason's company."

Bella laughed, the beautiful sound muffled due to us still embracing. "And why do you hate to say that? You aren't worried about our kids dating, are you!?" she asked incredulously.

"Well . . . Yeah," I admitted. Bella laughed at me.

"They're kids, honey," she said.

"What about when they're grown up?"

"They'll be step-siblings, by that time, Edward!" she blurted out. Then, realizing what she'd said, she blushed. "Forget you heard that."

"What if I don't want to forget it? What if I want it to be true?" I countered. Her blush deepened.

"You do?" she asked.

"One day, definitely."

"Oh, Edward!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around me.

I chuckled and kissed the spot behind her ear.

"We should probably go now. Alice and the rest must be wondering where we are."

"But didn't you say you had two things to ask me?"

"Oh, right! The other thing was about Elizabeth and Edward Sr. . . . I know they're Esme and Carlisle's friends, but why is it that they resemble you _so _much?"

"Well, love, it's because"—I took a deep breath—"they're my parents," I blurted out.

"But, I thought Carlisle and Esme are your parents . . ."

"They are."

"I'm confused," she said, pouting slightly.

"I'm adopted."

"_What?!_"

I told her everything that happened the day I found out I was adopted. I told her every little detail. I even included the part where I was thinking, 'I fucking knew it' over and over. And also the part where I told Esme that I loved Bella.

By the time I finished my story, Bella had tears in her eyes.

"Edward, I'm so, so sorry," she said, burying her head in my chest. I loved the new closeness I had with Bella. I wasn't going to let any force – mainly Jacob and Tanya – take it away from me. From us.

"It's okay, love. I've gotten over it. I actually think it's sort of fun having two sets of parents. It means more presents," I joked. Bella laughed.

"You sound like Emmett." I smiled, happy to make her laugh that beautiful laugh of hers.

"So, let's go see the others, I suppose. But Bella – promise me something."

"What?"

"Break up with Jacob when you see him."

"I want to . . . But he'll hit me, even here."

"Don't worry, Bella. I'll be with you while you do it. Unless you don't want me to be . . ." I trailed off.

"I want you to be around, but could you . . . hide somewhere, perhaps?"

"Anything for you. I won't let him hurt you, Bella. I swear. I would rather die than have you hurt."

"Never say that," she said harshly. I sighed.

"Like I said, anything for you." I gave her a sweet kiss on the lips and put my arms around her waist.

We started walking. Walking towards a new beginning.

* * *

**AN: **So . . . This chapter was mainly fluff, eh? But I guess most of you all like that, right? I know I do. I couldn't WAIT until they finally admitted it to each other. And to be honest, it was supposed to happen later on in the story, sorta. But I got impatient. Hehe.

Guys, I need you to be honest with me. How did I do with the kiss? Because that was my first time writing such a kiss . . . And Jamillia has been SUPER BUSY. She hasn't even gotten a chance to read the last couple of chapters. She knows what's going on, of course, but she hasn't read them. And she was too busy to write the scene . . . So yeah. Well, practice makes perfect, I guess. Anyhoo, any opinions on it? They're mucho appreciated.

**This chapter was 2,066 words long! (excluding the ANs!) Including them it was like . . . 3,050 words long! :D**

* * *

**ANOTHER REQUEST! Guys, I know a lot of you have switched people to review on. I know one person who used to review on my profile all the time started reviewing on Jamillia's because she thought I had more than enough reviews, and Jamillia didn't have enough. But see, we don't care who gets more. We just want our story to get to 1,000 reviews. And so, if you guys could review on both . . . It'd be GREAT and mucho appreciated. :) (Yeah, that's my attempt at Spanish. I shouldn't suck that much since I'm in Spanish 1, but eh, whatever.)**

* * *

**_Review goal:_**

**Twilight-is-Lovee: **Think we can get to **550 reviews**? Is that too much to ask for? I don't think so . . . Because I trust you, my trusty SDRs! :D And to get to **550 reviews**, we need 24 reviews. I think y'all can do it. Like, easily. Really, really, realllyyyy easily. Mhm. So . . . pllleeeaassseee? 104 of you are getting an alert for this. So if around 25 percent of you review, we'll have our goal! And if you all reviewed . . . Damn, I'd get to my goal of 1000 reviews in like 5 chapters. Haha. :)

**Jamillia: **um . . . **345 **reviews, please? :) I think that's what she wants . . . I'm just guessing. Sigh. :) But it'd be wonderful if you guys gave her that many.

* * *

**SORRY FOR THE LONG ANs. I'm just really talkative person. If you haven't already guessed. Humph. :)**


	18. The Dinner, Part Five

**Perfect Strangers**

**17. The Dinner, Part Five**

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Twilight. I never will. Humph. It does, and always will, belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**Sunday, October 12th, 2008**

_Previously on 'Perfect Strangers':_

_They kiss and say 'I love you' to each other, then Edward asks Bella to break up with Jacob. She agrees. DUN DUN DUNNNN!_

**EPOV**

I gave Bella a kiss before we walked into the main basement area where the rest of the group was seated. As soon as we walked in, everyone's eyes zeroed in on my arm, which was wrapped around Bella's waist.

Alice and Rosalie squealed, Jasper smiled, Emmett grinned, Tanya shrugged, and Jacob growled. Bella looked afraid.

I bent down and kissed her on the forehead, trying to assure her that everything would be all right. She smiled slightly, but my gesture seemed to throw Jacob over the edge.

"Get your filthy hands off my girlfriend!" he yelled.

"Calm down, Jacob," I said. Then, turning my attention to Bella, I whispered in her ear, "Would you like to do it now?"

She gulped and nodded.

"J-J-J-Jacob?" Bella stuttered.

Jacob's eyes narrowed.

"Yes, Bella?" he asked suspiciously.

"C-can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure, let's go," he said.

He came over, took her arm, and dragged her off.

I was about to storm after them. I wanted to give him a good beating for treating Bella as he just did, but a small hand came on my shoulder, stopping me from doing anything harsh.

I turned around and came face-to-face with my sister.

"What, Alice?"

"Don't. She wouldn't want you to."

"She told me to be around. In case anything happened."

Alice was about to respond, but before she could, Emmett spoke. Well . . . He yelled.

"What's going on with Bella?! She had bruises all on her torso, and now you two are talking in what seems to me like code language!" Emmett complained.

"I don't think she'd want you to know," I said.

"I don't really care, Ed. She's my sister, and I want to know what's going on with her," Emmett said calmly, but I could see the anger boiling up in him. Jasper nodded in agreement with him.

"Fine," I said.

Then, I told them everything I knew. I told them how Bella and Jacob met. How he was kind and loving at first, but then he turned on her. I told them how he beats Jason, too, but he's frankly too young to understand any of it. I told them everything.

Jasper and Emmett growled.

"WHAT?!" Jasper boomed. I was surprised; he was usually the most calm and collected.

"Let's go," Emmett said and started stomping his way to Bella and Jacob. Jasper followed. But I quickly rushed in front of them, stopping them.

"Hold on! She's breaking up with him right now. We can hide around the corner and if something happens, we attack him," I said.

"Fine," Emmett grumbled.

Emmett, Jasper, and I quickly found a hiding spot and started watching Jacob and Bella. Tanya had gone upstairs when I'd started explaining Bella's story, and we didn't want Rosalie or Alice near this violence.

They seemed to be in the middle of an intense argument.

"But Jacob! I don't want to be with you anymore. I don't love you," Bella said, her voice growing louder and louder.

"You love him, don't you? The parasite?" Jacob seethed.

"Yes! I do! Do you have a problem with that? And he is not a parasite. Why do you call him that?" Bella yelled.

"I call him that because that's what he is! He's a bloody parasite who's going to eat you alive." That mad-man was crazy.

"Are you bonkers?" I couldn't help but laugh a little at Bella's rhetorical question.

"Shut up, bitch, and listen to me. You will not break-up with me. You will tell him you don't love him. And you will come home with me, and I will give you a good, long bashing," Jacob whispered menacingly.

That did it. I rose and walked over to him. I punched him straight in the jaw, making him stumble backwards in surprise.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" he yelled.

"Defending Bella. She will not do anything you told her to, understand?" I asked, punching him again, this time on his right eye. "DO YOU?!" I yelled, following it up with a kick in his groin.

"Y-yeah," he muttered.

"Good. Now, you will go home, pack up, and leave. Your keys should be on the kitchen counter, understood? I don't care what you do, be out of Bella's house by tomorrow morning."

"Y-yes," he stammered.

I nodded, taking Bella in my arms. She immediately put her arms around me and started sobbing.

I tried my best to hush and comfort her, but it wasn't helping too much. She calmed down a little, but there were still tears streaming from her eyes.

"Emmett, Jasper?" I asked. They were still sitting in their hiding spot, probably assuming I needed to handle this. And I did. I wouldn't have been too happy if I hadn't gotten to beat the crap out of Jacob.

"Yeah?" they asked in unison.

"Deal with him. Beat him more, kick him out, I don't care. As long as he moves out of Bella's house and life."

They nodded enthusiastically and menacingly walked over to Jacob, who was sitting – cowering – on the floor, his back against the wall.

I saw them throw a few punches his way, and kick him a little, but then I focused on Bella, who was still nestled up in my arms.

She was crying, shaking from fear.

"Sh, Bella, it's going to be okay, love," I cooed.

"E-E-E-Edward," she sobbed, "What if he comes after me again?"

"Love, no one will touch you. I promise you that. I will never let him near you, ever again."

"Are y-you sure? I don't want to be a burden," she whispered.

I put my hands on her cheek and pulled her face up so she could look in my eyes.

"Bella, I love you. And for some unfathomable reason, you love me too. And I am never letting you be away from me again. As long as we're together, nothing will harm you. Okay?"

"I guess so. I love you, Edward."

I smiled and kissed the top of her head.

"Let's go see what's for dinner, shall we?" I asked, trying to get her in a better mood. It worked, for she laughed a little.

"Sure thing."

Despite her many protests, I carried her up the stairs and to the living room, where my two-sets of parents were seated.

When we entered, all eyebrows shot up.

Bella blushed, and I set her down, keeping my arm around her waist.

An awkward silence fell over the room.

Esme was the first to break it.

"Awe," she exclaimed. Facing Carlisle, she said, "Didn't I tell you the two of them would end up together?!"

"Yes, Esme," Carlisle sighed.

Esme, in many ways, reminded me of Alice. Even though she wasn't as hyper or as shopaholic as Alice was, Esme did have her 'Alice moments,' as I liked to call them.

"So, is it true?!" Esme asked, practically bouncing from her excitement.

"Is what true?" I asked nonchalantly.

"Edward Cullen, you know exactly what I'm talking about."

I, of course, had known what she'd meant to ask, but I wanted to see how long it'd take for her to say it herself.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Mom."

"Edward Anthony Masen Cullen," she said warningly.

"Yes, Mom?" I asked innocently.

"Fine," she sighed. "Are you and Bella together?"

"Yes, Mom," I said.

She squealed, running up to us.

She hugged Bella first, then me.

"I knew it!" she said. "But wait, honey, what about Tanya and Jacob?"

"Jacob and I are broken up," Bella said.

"And Tanya refuses to sign the divorce papers, but I'm going to try my best to make her do so tonight," I said.

"Oh, alright. That's great. I never liked Tanya or Jacob anyway."

Bella giggled, while I chuckled.

"I know," we both said in unison.

Esme 'awe'-d.

"So, what's for dinner?" I asked.

"I don't know, ask the chef," Esme said, looking significantly at Bella.

Bella blushed.

"Nothing special. Just some Mushroom Ravioli," she said.

"Oh, Bella, you make the best Ravioli! Do you have pasta and mashed potatoes, too?" Esme asked.

"Of course," Bella answered with a smile.

"Okay, I'll go call the others and we can start eating," Esme said, rushing downstairs to the basement.

Suddenly, we heard a scream erupt from down there.

Bella and I ran downstairs and saw Esme hyperventilating.

"What's wrong, Mom?!" I asked.

She pointed to the right of us, and I saw Emmett and Jasper smirking at Jacob. A very, very beat up Jacob.

"Ew," Bella said.

I chuckled.

"He got what he deserved," I said.

"I really doubt whatever he did was so bad you had to nearly kill the man," Esme exclaimed, sounding appalled.

"He used to hit me, Esme," Bella said.

"W-what?"

"Yeah. And I told Edward a while ago, and I told Alice today, and Emmett, Jasper, and Rose found out today as well."

"Oh, wow. File a case against him, Bella!"

"No, Esme, I-I can't."

"And why not?!"

"Because . . . I'm not a tit-for-tat person. He did what he did, and he got punished for it. It's over with."

"I don't like this, Bella, but it's your decision, so I'm going to leave it up to you. Even though I do wish you'd at least send him to jail."

Bella sighed, but shook her head.

I understood why she couldn't do that.

She'd been with him for too long.

She loved him for too long.

And as much as I hated to admit it, if I were her, I probably would've done the same thing.

Once again, I love my SDRs!! I asked for 550 reviews, and you gave me 565. Have I mentioned I love you? :D

I've been wondering . . . What's the difference between **hits** and **visitors**? I feel slow for not knowing, but yeah. . . :D

**Summary of aforementioned one-shot:** In the year 1980, Rosalie calls a family meeting. To discuss Edward's, ahem, orientation. Yes, folks, Rosalie wants the world to believe Edward's gay. Why, you ask? Well, you must read and find out! ;D (Edward's not gay, though. Obviously.)

**So** should I post it?

**Also**, next chapter will be the last part of the dinner. Finally, right? Haha. Then, we'll start on some ExB action. ;)

**VOTE! Vote on the poll that's on my profile!** It's on Jamillia's too! Please, please, please vote. We need those votes, people! ;) It's about a lemon. **And guys, I know some of you might not like lemons, and that's fine. And so, I'd like to say that I'm going to put up a warning before ANY lemon, or anything close to a lemon, starts. Of course, I'm not going to put up a warning before they make-out**, but yeah . . . You get the idea. :D

ONCE AGAIN, SORRY ABOUT THE LONGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG ANs! I can't seem to help myself.

**Twilight-is-Lovee:** I think it's safe to ask for **590 reviews**. Right? Chyeah, cos you're my Superduper reviewers!

**Jamillia:** um . . . **380 reviews**, please? :) I think that's what she wants . . . I'm just guessing. Sigh. :) But it'd be wonderful if you guys gave her that many.

* * *

Review goal:

* * *

Dominiqueanne is my 550th reviewer! (I'm pretty sure) I feel horrible about this, but I kinda forgot to note down who my 500th reviewer was . . . But I counted, and if I did the counting correctly, it was her! :D

* * *

Sorry, also because this chapter is so short. It's sort of like a filler, I guess. But I couldn't write anymore. My fingers are about to fall off because I'm so cold. So yeah.

* * *

SORRY!

SO SORRRRRY! For updating this so late. I meant to post on Sunday, but I've been so sick I could barely function. Sigh. Anyhoo, I was reading funny one-shots, and I got an idea that wouldn't leave me alone. So I wrote that. And it's a one-shot. I might post it. Tell me if I should.

* * *

AN by Twilight-is-lovee: I've decided that I'm going to start posting my LONG ANs at the end of the chapter. How does that sound? ;) So here ya go:

* * *

Disclaimer: Yeah, I still don't own Twilight. I never will. Humph. It does, and always will, belong to Stephenie Meyer.


	19. The Dinner, Part Six

_**Perfect Strangers**_

**_18. The Dinner, Part Six_**

* * *

**Disclaimer: Yeah, I still don't own Twilight or the Twilight movie! Eek, I can say that now! Because it's like, really real. Haha.** I also don't own the 'superhero' lines I'm going to use later on in the chapter. They're from Twilight, which belongs to Stephenie Meyer. :) Also, I don't own the song 'You and Me' by Lifehouse. I just love it. :D

* * *

**Sunday, October 12th, 2008**

_Previously on 'Perfect Strangers':_

_"I don't like this, Bella, but it's your decision, so I'm going to leave it up to you. Even though I do wish you'd at least send him to jail."_

_Bella sighed, but shook her head._

_I understood why she couldn't do that._

_She'd been with him for too long._

_She loved him for too long._

_And as much as I hated to admit it, if I were her, I probably would've done the same thing._

**EPOV**

We headed back upstairs to eat some of Bella's – what's sure to be amazing – Ravioli.

The past two weeks or so had been filled with tension, and we surely didn't need any more of it.

Wait, two weeks?

Huh. I suppose it had been just two weeks since I'd met Bella.

It felt like forever ago, though . . .

I just hoped that Tanya would be dealt with soon. Well, on the positive side, at least Jacob was out of our lives now.

On the way upstairs, Alice and Rosalie told me that Emmett and Jasper had thrown Jacob in the ditch right outside the neighborhood.

I told Bella that, and she laughed loudly.

"He sure as hell deserved it. But I cannot believe he's had to be in a ditch twice in one weekend," she said.

I raised my eyebrows at her, silently probing her to explain.

"Well . . . On Friday, once I'd tucked Jason in, I got a call from the police station saying Jacob was found drunk and naked in a ditch."

I laughed. "So that's why he has that cast on his arm."

"Yep. But, like I said, he deserves it."

I nodded my head in agreement.

Bella placed a chaste kiss on my lips before going to get dinner ready.

In less than ten minutes, she was calling all of us to eat at the dining table.

The entire meal was delicious, and the best part was that Bella held my hand the entire time.

It seemed as if Bella and I were in our own little bubble the entire time.

"Bella?! Bella!!" Emmett called from across the table.

"Yes, Emmett?" Bella asked, clearly annoyed.

"You and Mr. Loverboy need to cut it out, and you need to serve me my dessert, woman!"

She sighed. "Fine, Em."

The dessert was even better than the dinner.

Bella had made a fruit salad with vanilla ice cream mixed in it.

This woman was truly, amazingly perfect. I couldn't ask for anyone better.

I still couldn't believe an angel like her had chosen someone like me. I was most definitely not worthy of her.

After everyone was done eating, we all went to the living room and talked for a while.

Emmett made jokes, Alice tried to bribe Bella into going shopping with her, Bella kept refusing, Jasper tried to calm Alice down, and Esme and Carlisle watched the scene unfold with joy, pride, and amusement in their eyes. I watched them all, thinking about how in the world I had received a wonderful family such as them.

"Well, we must be going now, children," Elizabeth said. Edward Senior nodded in agreement.

They hadn't really done or said much during the dinner. The only thing out of their mouth was the occasional compliment towards Bella's cooking. Basically, they'd just watched us with wistfulness in their eyes.

I knew what it was about. They were sad they'd had to give me up.

But if I were being honest, I was glad they did. I know it sounds really mean and conceited of me, but if they hadn't, I would never have met the great people I had met, I never would've had a family like the one I had, and I never would've had Bella.

Suddenly, I realized that my daughter and Bella's 'son' weren't around.

"Where are Jason and Anna?" I asked.

A very bouncy Alice answered, "They're asleep in the guest room upstairs."

"Oh," I said lamely.

"Right, well, let's leave, Liz," my biological father said.

We all said goodbye to them – I even hugged them both, and Elizabeth hugged Bella – and then they left.

"We should leave, too, Emmy," Rose said.

"Sure, babe," Emmett complied.

Emmett and I exchanged phone numbers, and then they, too, said goodbye to us and left.

"Bella – take care of yourself and stay with Loverboy," Emmett called before entering his car.

Bella blushed and nodded. I wrapped my arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head.

We all went to the living room and talked a little more.

Tanya was obliviously ignoring all of us, and we left her out of our conversations.

She didn't even care that Bella and I were practically wrapped around each other. And honestly, I wouldn't have cared if Tanya was concerned about any of it.

Again, it felt as if Bella and I were under our own bubble. She had this silly belief that I was a superhero or something of the sort.

"So . . . Spidey-senses?" she guessed.

"Nope. And kryptonite doesn't bother me either," I answered cockily.

"Ugh, humor me."

"Bella, honestly, I'm nothing but an average human. Just like you. Of course, you're kinder and more beautiful than even an angel could hope to be."

She blushed, and I leaned over to kiss her cheek.

"I love your blush, did you know that?" I mused.

Her blush deepened and I chuckled.

I heard 'awe's from Alice and Esme.

"You know, Edward . . . PDA gets really annoying," Tanya said.

I scoffed. "This coming from the woman who admitted to her husband that she has fuck buddies."

"So what, Edward? You wouldn't sleep with me because you didn't love me, and so what was I supposed to do? Pleasure myself?!"

"How would you know I never loved you?"

"Because I saw the disgusted look on your face whenever you'd see me walk in. Then, of course, you'd wipe it off your face in a matter of seconds. And of course, you aren't gay, because I know gay, and you definitely are not gay. So the only option was that you didn't love me. And don't deny it, because you know it's true, Edward," Tanya said with a sigh.

"I'm not denying it," I said.

"Oh," she said with disappointment marring her features.

"Well, kids, we should leave now. I have to get to the hospital early tomorrow," Carlisle said.

"Right, I forgot about that. I'll call you, loves," Esme said.

They said goodbye to all of us, excluding Tanya, who ignored them, and then left, as well.

Now Bella, our kids, Tanya, and I were the only guests remaining at Alice and Jasper's house.

I suggested we left, too, and Alice came over and gave us all a big hug. Jasper hugged Bella, and shook my hand. Again, Tanya was left out. Alice did say 'goodbye' to her, though.

I went upstairs to get Jase and Anna so we could go home.

When I was back downstairs, I noticed Bella and Tanya in an argument.

I was curious. Why would they argue?

I placed Jason and Anna on the couch and listened to their fight.

"Slut!" Tanya yelled.

"I'm the slut? What the hell?"

"Yes, you are! Man-stealing, home-wrecking whore!"

"At least I didn't cheat on my husband!" Bella said.

"I cheated on him because he wouldn't give me some."

"I don't blame him," Bella muttered.

"Excuse me!? You BITCH! How dare you say that? I'm a model! A SUPERMODEL!" Tanya screeched conceitedly.

"And . . . ?"

"And you're a virgin editor!"

"Wh-Who told you that?" Bella looked hurt.

"I have my resources."

"Yeah, well, I'm not going to give it up to any fucker who asks," Bella said. I'd never heard her talking that way before. It . . . turned me on. "Unlike you."

Tanya smacked Bella.

I gasped.

It was time to pull the two of them apart.

Bella pulled on Tanya hair, and I was about to stop them, but what I saw shocked me.

Tanya's hair came off her hair.

All of it.

It was a . . . Wig?!

"Whoa baby," Alice said. Jasper nodded.

"You don't have hair?" I asked.

"Well, I never did. No one ever discovered it, though . . ."

"Interesting," Bella said.

"I'm leaving," Tanya said.

"How are you going to get home?" I asked.

"I'll take a cab to my car."

I shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat."

"Bye," Tanya said, exiting the door.

"We should go, too, Bella," I said.

"Right. I'll call you tomorrow or something, Alice. I'll talk to you later, Edward," she said.

"Wait, I thought you were staying at my place tonight . . ."

"Oh, I thought I'd go home since Jacob's not going to be there."

"But, Bella, he's going to be going there sometime tonight to retrieve his things. I'm not letting you be in that house alone while Jacob's roaming the streets."

"You know I'll have to go back there eventually," Bella said.

"Yes, I realize that. And that's why Jacob's going to rehab in a week."

"Rehab?!"

"Yes. Emmett and I discussed it earlier. It was a while before Elizabeth and Edward Senior left. No one else knows about it. Just Emmett and I. So, I called them and they're going to get him themselves."

"Whoa, really?" Bella asked, looking relieved.

"Yes, love."

She jumped on me, hugging me tightly.

"Yay! Thank you so, so, so, so, so much, Edward! I love you!" she exclaimed.

I chuckled.

"I love you, too, Bella."

"Alright, so, I'm staying at your house for the week? I really don't want to impose, Edward."

"Bella, love, listen to me. I want you to stay at my house. You're not going to impose. You being there will give me peace. It'll make me happy that you're safe and secure. Please, Bella?" I pleaded.

Something in my expression might've changed her mind.

"Sure, Edward, thanks."

I smiled and kissed her.

"Can we stop by my house, though? I'd like to get some clothes and such."

"Sure, love."

We got the kids from where they were asleep on the couch, waved goodbye to Alice and Jasper, and left the house.

I buckled in Anna while Bella buckled in Jason.

We both entered the car, and I drove to Bella's house.

She rushed inside and was out in 10 minutes. She was carrying a duffel bag, and it looked like it was heavy for her.

I ran outside and took it from her. I put it in the trunk, and opened the passenger side door for her to get in the car.

Then I ran over to my side and restarted the car.

I turned the radio to my favorite station and took Bella's hand, holding it on my lap.

"Oh, this is my favorite song!" Bella exclaimed, turning the volume up.

I immediately recognized the song. It was 'You and Me' by Lifehouse. I smiled. It was one of my favorites, too.

I moved our intertwined hands to my face and placed a kiss on Bella's hand.

Then, when the best part of the song came on, I started singing along.

"'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do  
Nothing to lose  
And it's you and me and all other people  
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you  
and me and all other people with nothing to do  
Nothing to prove  
And it's you and me and all other people  
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you."

"Has anyone told you that you have an amazing voice? If you weren't a doctor, I would've suggested going into the music industry," Bella said.

I laughed. "Sure, if you say so."

"I do say so," she said with a wink.

We were at a stop light, so I bent over and kissed her. I could feel her smiling into the kiss, so I pulled away.

"What are you smiling about?" I asked.

"I'm just happy I don't have much more to deal with. With Jacob gone, I don't really have too much stress."

"I understand completely," I said.

The rest of the car ride was spent in a comfortable silence.

When we got home, I opened Bella's door and helped her out, and then we got the kids outside the car and into the house. We put them to sleep in Anna's bedroom, and I showed Bella the guestroom.

"So, where are you going to sleep? I'm assuming you don't sleep with Tanya anymore, right?" Bella asked.

"Well, yeah, but I usually sleep in the guest bedroom, where you're sleeping tonight," I said.

"So sleep with me," Bella said, blushing when she realized the innuendo she made. "In the same bed, I meant."

I laughed. "I know what you meant. But, are you sure?" I asked. I wanted nothing more to sleep with her – in both ways.

"Yeah, just go change and come back in here."

"If you're sure," I said, and I couldn't help the goofy grin that spread on my face. Bella nodded and grinned back at me.

I almost ran to Tanya's room, my old room, to get changed.

When I walked in, though, I saw Tanya sitting on the bed, looking at the door.

"About time," she muttered.

"What do you want, Tanya?" I asked, annoyed.

"I'm ready to give you the divorce you keep asking for."

Is she serious? I asked myself. By the look on her face, I could tell she was.

My insides wanted to jump around and break into song and dance, but I resisted. Instead, I smiled.

"Thank you," I said.

I bought her the papers, and she hesitatingly signed them.

"There," she said once she'd finished signing. "You're free from me."

"Thank you, Tanya. I'll start moving out soon."

She nodded. "Goodnight, Edward."

"Goodnight, Tanya."

I left the room a single man. Well, not single. I was with Bella now. And I was more than happy about that.

When I opened the guest bedroom, I was shocked to find Bella clad in only her bra and pajamas. She had a shirt in her hand, but it dropped when she heard me gasp.

She turned around and looked at me, surprise marring her perfect features.

"I'm sorry, I'll leave," I said hurriedly, turning to face the hallway outside the room.

"No, Edward, it's okay!" she said.

I turned around, facing her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Now, hold on for a moment."

She put on her shirt and came over to me, giving me a kiss.

"See? No big deal."

I smiled.

"So . . . I'm no longer married," I said casually.

"What?! That's great!" she said, hugging me tightly.

When she pulled out of the hug, I noticed the dark circles around the eyes.

"Come on, let's get you to bed. It's obvious you haven't gotten much sleep lately."

I picked her up bridal style and laid her on the bed. Then, I lay down next to her, putting my arm around her waist.

She snuggled into me, and I kissed her passionately.

Slowly, we both fell into a deep sleep. It was one of the best nights of my life.

* * *

**ALL AUTHOR'S NOTES ARE WRITTEN BY TWILIGHT-IS-LOVEE!** Jamillia hasn't really been writing much lately, so thank Twilight-is-Lovee for taking responsibility and being all mature and whatnot. HAHA! Actually, Jamillia's writing the super-lemon right now, so I'm writing all the chapters. :)

**AN:** So . . . Hopefully, this AN won't be as long as the others! Guys, I posted the one-shot! :D

**My 600th reviewer was someone anonymous. Haha. :)**

Remember the** fruit salad mixed with vanilla ice cream**? That was the dessert that Bella made . . . Yeah, you guys remember that, right? Well, it's the only thing I truly enjoy 'cooking'. And it's delicious, too. I learned it in 1st grade. HAHA!

**AND OMG! THE TWILIGHT MOVIE! EEK! (no spoilers ahead):**

So, I loved it. Haha. But yet, I hated it. I hated it because of my list of complains (which, if anyone wants to read, I'll send them to you), and I loved it because it was **amazing for a bookturnedmovie**. :D Yes, I made up that word. Haha. Sooooooooo! If anyone wants to talk about the movie, hit me up. Haha. x3

* * *

**Review goal:**

**Twilight-is-Lovee:** I think it's safe to ask for **650 reviews**. You gave me 49 reviews when I posted the last chapter. So I think getting to 650 reviews should be a piece of cake to you guys, right?!

**Jamillia:** um . . . **420 reviews**, please? :) I think that's what she wants . . . I'm just guessing. Sigh. :) But it'd be wonderful if you guys gave her that many. (Also, sorry about the last chapter's AN messing up at the bottom . . . We don't know what went wrong. We'll fix it eventually.)


	20. The Move

**Perfect Strangers**

**19. The Move.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or McDonald's.**

* * *

**Saturday, October 18th, 2008**

_Previously on 'Perfect Strangers':_

Tanya has a wig; Bella is living with Edward for a week; Tanya divorced Edward; Jacob's going to rehab at the end of the week

**EPOV**

The past week had been amazing. Bella and I had spent tons of time together. We'd also gotten much, much closer to each other.

Our children loved each other and they loved us.

Jacob and Tanya weren't in our lives anymore, and that was great.

Of course, Tanya still lived in the house Bella and I were living in, but this weekend, I was starting the move to my new house.

Therefore, soon, Tanya wouldn't be around at all.

Life was pretty much perfect.

I was lying in bed next to Bella, my arm around her waist, her snuggled into my chest, when my phone rang. I reached my hand to the bedside table and grabbed my cell phone.

"Hello?" I whispered into the phone. I didn't want to wake Bella from her sleep.

"Yes, may I talk to Dr. Cullen?" a man's voice said.

"This is he."

"Good morning, Dr. Cullen. I'm Marcus Volturi from the Back to Perfect Rehabilitation Center. You had called a week ago to notify us about a Mr. Jacob Black?"

"Good morning, Mr. Volturi. Yes, I remember. Call me Edward."

"Alright, Edward. Call me Marcus, please." I gently untangled myself from Bella's sleeping body and went out to the hallway.

"Sure. So, did you pick up Jacob from wherever he was?"

"Yes, we did," Marcus said. "He was sitting inside a McDonald's near what you said was your girlfriend's house."

"Oh, alright. Is there anything else you needed?"

"Oh, well, no. I just wanted to know how long you wanted to keep him here."

"As long as is necessary for him to be healed," I said.

"Well, we sent him for a checkup earlier, and the results said he'd need to stay for at least five years to get the full treatment."

"That's great!" I said, truly happy he wouldn't be a bother to us anymore . . . for at least five years.

"And you wouldn't mind paying for him? Monthly charges are 1,000 dollars, Edward. And five years . . . Wow, that would be 60,000 dollars!"

"I don't mind. As long as he's out of my girlfriend and my life, I don't mind at all. I can send you 24,000 dollars later today. That should cover two years, correct?"

"Y-yes, it should," Marcus said.

He was probably wondering how I'd gotten all that money. It was actually some of the money I'd saved up from my job as a doctor.

We doctors are paid a lot. I actually thought it was a little irrational how much we were paid. All we did was save people's lives, and most doctors, including myself, chose this profession for the pure purpose of saving lives. Not because of the money. That's just an added bonus.

"Alright, Marcus, I'll pay it online on your website."

"Great. Have a good day, Edward."

"You too. Goodbye," I said, hanging up the phone.

I walked back into the guest room and saw Bella was just waking up.

"'Morning, beautiful," I said.

"Good morning," she grumbled.

Bella was definitely not a morning person.

"Who was that on the phone?"

"Marcus Volturi. He's from the rehab center I sent Jacob to. They've brought him in and they wanted to let me know. Jacob's going to be in there for at least another five years."

"Whoa, that's awesome!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, it really is, isn't it?"

Then, I remembered something I'd been planning to do. I went over to Bella's side of the bed and got down on the floor on one knee.

Bella's eyes went wide.

"Don't worry, love, I'm not proposing to you – yet," I said. That seemed to calm her down.

"Then . . . What are you doing on the floor?" she asked. I laughed.

"Honestly – I have no idea. I mean, I don't need to be on the floor to ask you this . . ."

"Then get up!" Bella could be very blunt.

But I listened to her. I got up off the floor and sat next to her.

I took her hands in mine and said, "Bella, I love you. You know that. Right?"

"Yes . . ."

"Good. Okay, so I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"Well, as childish as this is, I guess there's no avoiding it. Bella, love, will you be my girlfriend?" I asked, completely nervous.

Bella laughed. Laughed hard. She had tears running down her face from laughing so hard.

"What's so funny?"

"You – you looked so serious – as if you'd committed a crime. And all … you … had to ask me … was to be your girlfriend!" she said between laughter.

I nodded, still not finding the humor in this.

Bella sighed.

"Never mind," she said, exasperated.

"So . . .?"

"'So' what?"

"Will you be my girlfriend?" I asked again. Bella giggled.

"Right, I forgot about that. But of course I'll be your girlfriend!" she exclaimed.

I couldn't help the goofy grin that spread on my face.

I bent down slightly and gave her a soft kiss on the lips.

Bella smiled blissfully.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?"

"I was thinking about moving today. I've called a UHAUL truck. They should arrive any moment. And in fact, last night when you were asleep, I couldn't get to sleep, so I packed up all my stuff."

"Like I said, you're Superman!"

"No, Bella, I just had time to do it all."

"Whatever you say."

At that moment, I remembered something.

"Bella? I needed to ask you something else."

"And what's that?" she asked.

"Will you go on a date with me on Saturday, next week?"

Damn, I kept coming up with the cheesiest things to say!

"Of course I will, Edward."

I smiled and kissed her.

We continued talking for a while, and around noon, after we'd had breakfast and taken the kids to Alice's house for the day, the movers arrived with the truck.

It took us a couple of rounds, but we eventually did get all my stuff to the new house.

The new house was about an hour away from Tanya's home, so we didn't get done bringing the boxes and such until around 6:30.

Thankfully, Bella and I had gone to the furniture store earlier this week and had bought the necessities.

We had the couches for the living room, a bedroom set for the master bedroom, a pink bedroom set for Anna's bedroom, and the dining table. We also bought some supplies for the bathrooms. I was going to do the other shopping later. After I talked to Bella about something very, very important.

I was going to ask her something that would change everything about the house, in a way. But I was going to wait till our date to ask her.

Hopefully, she'd agree to it.

When we had all my boxes in the new house, I paid the movers, and they left.

Bella and I were exhausted from the day's work, and we pretty much just dropped on the couches when everything was inside the house.

"Will you spend the night with me, Bella? Now that I know what it's like sleeping next to you, I don't think I can ever go back to sleeping alone, or with anyone else for that matter."

"I'd love to stay over tonight, Edward. But you know, I'll eventually have to go back to my house."

I groaned.

"But . . . You're always welcome to spend nights there. We can alternate!" she said with a laugh.

I chuckled. "Sure, love. As long as I get to spend the nights with you, I'm all for it."

"Lovely," she said in a fake British accent.

This only made my chuckle turn into laughter.

"Do you have any idea how much I love you?" I bemused with a smile.

"Well. . . If it's nearly as much as I love you, then I have a pretty good idea."

She leaned up to kiss me, but before we could progress the kiss into anything more, Bella's phone rang.

I sighed in frustration. Bella looked annoyed.

She reached over and grabbed her phone.

"Alice," she muttered angrily.

"My sister really does have impeccable timing," I said in the same angry tone as Bella.

"Yes, Alice?" Bella said into the phone. "Yes, they are . . . Uh-huh . . . Yep . . . No . . . . But Aliiiceee! . . . Ugh, fine."

She flipped her phone close, looking annoyed.

"What did Alice want?" I asked.

"Did you have to tell her about the date? She wants to take me shopping," Bella whined.

"Sorry, love, I just needed her advice. I didn't know she's subject you to her evil pixie torture," I said, faking a shudder, hoping to make her laugh. And it worked, she giggled.

"Edward? What are we going to eat tonight? I don't suppose you had time to grocery shop, did you, Superman?" I laughed.

"No, but we can order pizza."

"Sure."

"What would you like on it?"

"Just cheese."

"Perfect. That's what I always get, too."

I ordered the pizza and they arrived within forty-five minutes.

"Hey, Eric," I said to the pizza man. He delivered to me often.

"Yo, Edward. What it do?"

I laughed. "You know I don't understand your . . . slang."

"Hello, Edward. How are you today?" he mocked. I laughed harder.

"I'm good. What about you?"

"I'm great."

"What's funny?" Bella asked, suddenly coming up behind me and wrapping her arms around my waist, resting her head on my shoulder.

"Oh, nothing really, Eric's being humorous," I said.

"Who's this, Edward? What happened to that hottie model wife of yours? And why do you always get the ladies? This one's prettier than the last!" Eric ranted.

Bella blushed.

"She's my girlfriend, Bella. Tanya and I got divorced," I explained.

"Ah, I see. Well, nice to meet you, Bella," Eric said, extending his hand towards Bella.

"You too, Eric," Bella said, shaking his hand.

"I must get goin' now. Gotta go back to the pizza place and then I got a hot date tonight. Not nearly as hot as you, though, Bella," Eric said, winking at my Bella.

I growled. "Enough, Eric."

"Sorry, man. I got me Angela, anyway."

"Angela Weber?"

"Yeah, you know her?"

"Yeah, she's a nurse at my hospital," I said.

"Oh, right, she said she was a nurse. Well, bye, have a good night!"

"You too," Bella and I said.

I quickly took the pizza from Eric and handed him the money.

We waved goodbye to him, and then went to the dining room to eat.

We had a nice conversation going during dinner. We flirted, occasionally kissed, and talked a whole lot.

After the pizza, Bella went for a quick shower, and I really wanted to join her, but I wanted our first time to be special.

Plus, Bella told me she was a virgin. I wish I could've said the same, but sadly, I'd had sex. Sure, it was only one time, and I regretted it immensely, but it was sex nonetheless.

Though, I obviously did not regret having Anna. She was my life. Well, Bella and Anna and Jason, too.

"What are you thinking about?" Bella asked when she got out of the shower.

"My life."

"What about it?"

"Oh, just how lucky I am that I have you and Anna and Jason."

She smiled.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you too, sweetheart."

"Let's go to bed, shall we?" she asked.

"Sure," I said, leading her to the bed.

She snuggled close to me, and I sighed blissfully.

We soon fell asleep in my new house. In what I hoped would be our house soon.

* * *

**AN (By Twilight-is-Lovee):** So, sorry this chapter is kinda rushed and teeny tiny and very sucky. I've been … eh, Idk, busy, I suppose. I was supposed to update Wednesday, but I was outta state on Wednesday and Thursday. And so I just got to it today. And today, I feel like I have a fever, but I don't. It's complicated.

BELLA AND EDWARD HAVE NOT HAD SEX YET! In case anyone was wondering. Lol. One of my friends was, so yeah. :D

Next chapter: The date (and Edward asks her what he was thinking about in this chapter).

* * *

**Review goal:**

**Twilight-is-Lovee:** I think it's safe to ask for **700 reviews**. Thanks lovelies. x3

**Jamillia:** um . . . **450 reviews**, please? :)


	21. The Date

**Perfect Strangers**

**20. The Date.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the place(s?) they go for their date.**

* * *

**Saturday, October 25th, 2008**

_Previously on 'Perfect Strangers':_

_Edward moves into his new house; Jake has to be in Rehab for five years; Bella and Edward are officially girlfriend/boyfriend; they're going on a date in this chapter!_

**BPOV**

"But, but, but, Alliiiicee, why can't you tell me what he has planned?" I asked for the millionth time.

I was bored, sitting on my bed in my house while Alice played Barbie with me for my date. Alice demanded that Edward pick me up at my house for our first date. The children were spending time with Esme and Carlisle tonight.

"No," my best friend replied simply.

"But whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?"

"Goodness, Bella, stop acting like a child," Alice reprimanded, adding the finishing touches to my hair.

She quickly started working on my make-up. For my date tonight. My date with Edward. Edward, the most gorgeous man on the planet. Life just couldn't get any better.

"Sorry, Mom," I muttered. I was feeling giddy and childish. Maybe it was because it was my first date in a long time, and it was with a man I loved dearly.

"All done!" Alice exclaimed.

She took me in front of the mirror and showed me her work. Earlier, she'd said there was no way in hell I was seeing myself before she was done with her masterpiece.

"Ta-dah!" she yelled when I saw myself. "What do you think?"

Alice had let my hair flow in waves down my back. And my make-up was quite simple. Just a little eye shadow, some mascara, a little eyeliner, a touch of blush, and lip-gloss. It wasn't much, but somehow, Alice managed to make me look amazing.

"I'm . . . beautiful," I mumbled. Alice laughed.

"You're always beautiful, Bells."

"Uh-huh," I garbled, not really paying attention to her words.

"Um . . . Bella?"

"Yeah?" I asked distractedly.

"Hurry up with your self-ogling, woman! We still have to get you in that dress! And the shoes. Oh goodness, let's not forget the shoes!" she cried.

I sighed. "You're crazy."

"Whatever. Not my fault you can't appreciate fashion."

"I appreciate fashion," I said, but then I saw Alice's glare so I decided to tweak my words a little bit. "Sometimes."

Alice nodded in approval.

We went to my closet and brought out the beautiful blue dress Alice and I had found at the mall – after hours of looking, might I add.

Alice's description of the dress was, "It has a chic double v shape, pleated empire waist, loose flowing skirt that ends mid-thigh, pleated bodice, and it's 100 percent silk."

I didn't understand a word of it.

Alice said I was hopeless, and I had to agree with her on that.

Soon enough, I had my dress and accessories on. I only had on simple, silver hoops for jewelry, and a silver clutch. I approved of the entire outfit – except the shoes.

They were silver, multi-ankle band stilettos that were totally hot. Again, Alice's description. However, I had to admit, they were extremely cute, no matter how much I didn't want to wear them.

"Alice, can we please, please, please choose different shoes?"

"Nope," my so-called best friend replied.

"Why?" I whined.

"Because I said so," she said. I sighed and shook my head. There really was no point in arguing with her. What Alice wants, Alice gets.

"And what about a jacket? Or a shawl? I don't have either! Well, none that match this outfit anyway."

"That's what you have Edward for," Alice said with a wink.

True, I thought with a giggle.

Alice and I went downstairs, and as soon as I stepped off the last step, the doorbell rang.

Alice squealed, and I surprised myself by giving a small squeal as well. I hadn't been this excited for any of the dates I'd been on. Not even the ones with Jacob when we first started dating.

Alice ran into the kitchen, and I went to open the door while taking deep breaths, trying to calm myself.

My deep breaths didn't do anything in the soothing process, though. What did help, however, was seeing Edward's crooked smile once I opened the door.

"Hey, beautiful," he said, making me blush.

"Hey, handsome," I said, trying to flirt. Of course, my attempts were stupid.

"You look gorgeous, my Bella."

My blush darkened.

"Thanks. You look great, too."

"Jeez, you two suck at flirting. Especially you, Bella!" Alice exclaimed, suddenly popping out of the kitchen.

My blush darkened even further. I bet I looked like a fire hydrant right about then.

"I wasn't flirting, I was being honest," Edward said solemnly. I smiled.

"Well, let's go. I want to know the surprise already. Alice wouldn't let me in on anything. Though, of course she knows everything on our agenda tonight, doesn't she?"

"Yes, love, and I made her promise not to tell."

I sighed.

"Let's just go," I repeated.

Edward nodded and put his hand around my waist, leading me out.

Surprisingly, it wasn't cold outside.

He stopped on my porch, seeming to remember something. He turned to face me.

"Bella, love, I have something for you."

I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously.

"I don't like gifts, you know that," I said.

"Yes, but I would be honored if you accepted this." He looked at me, attempting to dazzle me with his eyes I'm sure. And it worked.

I sighed and nodded.

He smiled happily.

He pulled out a jewelry box from his pocket, and I had to resist the urge to groan. I hated expensive jewelry gifts more than anything else.

He opened the box, and I gasped at the contents of it.

The box contained a beautiful, white gold heart necklace. Inside the heart, there was a curve of diamonds, adding an extra sparkle. I didn't know how to describe it any better than to say it was absolutely, perfectly, wondrously gorgeous.

"Edward," I gasped. "It's beautiful."

"I'm glad you like it," he said, seeming very pleased with himself.

"Wait a second, this looks really expensive. How many karats is it? It had better not be any over 5, even though I doubt it. It looks . . . magnificent."

"It's 14K," he said sheepishly.

"Edward Cullen, I've already told you I don't like expensive gifts!"

"Please, Bella?" he asked, looking at me with those pleading, dazzling eyes again. Those eyes that I just couldn't refuse. And I'm sure he knew that, too!

"Fine," I huffed.

"Thank you," he said genuinely.

"Will you put it on for me?"

"Gladly."

He spun me around so that my back was facing him. He brought the necklace around me, swept my hair to the side, and clasped the necklace together around my neck.

Then, he bent down and kissed the side of my neck. It was a heavenly feeling.

"I love you," he whispered in my ear.

"I love you, too, Edward," I said just as softly.

He turned me around again and kissed me, joining our soft lips in a wonderful dance.

Our kiss was broken when a knock came from inside the house.

We turned to face it, to face Alice.

She walked out and said, "Sorry to interrupt, but I do have to get home to Jazzy, and you two have reservations at 8 and it is now 7:17."

"Shit," Edward muttered.

I looked at them, confused.

"You'll see," Edward said to me.

I just rolled my eyes and let him lead me to his car.

Surprisingly, it wasn't his Volvo. It was a . . . Black, shiny, really pretty car with a name I didn't know.

"What happened to your Volvo?"

"I still have it. This car, my precious Aston Martin, is my special occasion car," he said proudly.

"You love cars, don't you?"

"Not as much as I love you."

I smiled at him and pecked his cheek.

Edward held the passenger door open for me and helped me get in. How did I ever get so lucky?

He rushed over to the driver's side and turned the car on.

He reached for the radio, but to my surprise, he pressed the 'CD' button.

The soft tunes of classical music filled the car.

"Claire de Lune," I mumbled, mystified. Who knew Edward Cullen was a classical man?

"You listen to Debussy?" he asked, looking and sounding shocked.

"I'm just as surprised you listen to it, too."

"I guess we have more in common than meets the eye."

I smiled.

He reached over for my hand and held it on my lap.

We were soon at the 'surprise location.'

It was La Bella Italia, one of the most expensive places in all of Washington.

"Edward, how did you get reservations here? Aren't they pretty much impossible to get?"

"I have my connections," he said slyly. I laughed.

He opened the door for me again and helped me out of the car.

He put his arm around my waist, and we walked into the restaurant.

"Two under Cullen," he said to the maître d.

"Right this way, Mr. and Mrs. Cullen," the maître d said, motioning us to follow him.

What he said made me blush, but I didn't correct him, and I noticed neither did Edward. That made me smile.

I realized I'd been smiling much, much more these days than I ever had before.

The maître d led us to a booth and told us our waiter would be right out.

And as promised, our waiter – or should I say, wait_ress_ – was at our table in less than two minutes.

She didn't even glance at me; she only had eyes for Edward.

"Good evening, I'm Wynnona and I'll be your server tonight," she purred, trying to sound sexy. "Have you decided what you'd like?"

"Bella?" Edward asked.

Wynnona reluctantly turned to look at me.

"Um . . . I'll have Mushroom Ravioli and a Coke."

"Make that two," Edward said.

Wynnona nodded and walked away.

"I'm sure your ravioli is much better than theirs, Bella."

I blushed.

"Thanks."

Our dinner arrived soon, and it tasted good. Edward still said mine was better.

Conversation flowed easily throughout dinner and it was never forced.

For desert, we decided to share a 'Great Wall of Chocolate.' It was obviously supposed to be like 'the Great Wall of China.'

Pretty much, it was seven layers of chocolate cake with an assortment of berries on the side. It came with raspberry sauce, but neither Edward not I like it, so we asked them to exclude it.

It tasted delicious. Edward fed me all the strawberries, since those were my favorite berries.

When we were done eating, Edward said, "Bella, I have to ask you something."

"Yeah?"

"Will you move in with me?" he blurted out. "You don't have to if you don't want to, but I just thought it'd be best since we already can't fall asleep without each other, so why not? And our children are best friends, so I'm sure they wouldn't mind. So what do you say?"

"Wow, Edward, are you sure?"

"I've never been surer about anything in my life."

"Then yes, I'd love to move in with you," I said with a wide smile. Edward grinned at me.

"So, will you spend tonight at our house? We can stop by your old house and get your necessities and then go back to our house."

I laughed.

"You're really excited about this, aren't you?"

"More than you can imagine, love," he said.

"Okay, then, sure, let's go get my necessities, as you call them."

Edward chuckled.

At that moment, our waitress, Wynnona, happened to be passing by at that moment.

"Excuse me, Wynnona?" Edward called.

"Yes?" she purred in a low voice. "Is there anything I can get you? Anything at all?"

"The check would be nice," Edward said, unaffected by her sultriness. He barely looked at her while answering.

I had to stifle a laugh at the face Wynnie-the-Bitchie made.

"What?" Edward asked after was out of hearing range.

"Did you seriously not notice her flirting with you?"

"No, I only had eyes for you, love," he said, making me blush.

Soon the check arrived, and WynnBitch didn't even bother bringing it this time. She sent a male.

When we were out of the restaurant, Edward sighed.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I'm just glad we're out of there. I don't think I could stand the sight of that man anymore. He kept looking at you with googly eyes. And his name was Jacob!"

I laughed. "Well, at least it's not the same Jacob."

"True."

We got in the car, him opening my door for me again, and drove to my house. My old house.

We would get my 'necessities' and go home. Our home.

* * *

**AN (By Twilight-is-Lovee):** So, I haven't updated in . . . what? A week and a day? Yeah, I know, how much do I suck? I'm so sorry. You have no idea how hard this week was! Like, I had to study for Bio two days in a row, and I was so totally supposed to write and write and write all week. I actually got started writing a lot during the week. But then as soon as I got a sentence done, something came up. If anyone wants to know what all I had to do all week, yeah, lemme know and I'll tell you. (It's really boring, though. All about stupid high school stuff).

AND! OMG! A chapter from BPOV! Shocking, isn't it? Most of the chapters in the story are from EPOV. Because it's my favorite to write. Lol. I save the BPOVs for Jamillia, buttttttt today, I was like, "Oh what the hell! I'll give BPOV a try!" And I did. And I'm proud of it. Even though I like my EdwardPOVs better. Which one do you like better?

* * *

**VERY IMPORTANT:** Okay, so remember that dress Bella wore? Well, I have the whole outfit's picture. Even the hoops and stuff. Yeah, and all the other pictures I had on my profile. Remember those? Yeah, those aren't there anymore. I moved them onto my Photobucket (which I made, like, yesterday).  
SO! Here's the link to my 'Perfect Strangers' photo album:

photobucket**(dot)**com/perfectstrangers

The link is up on my, **Twilight-is-Lovee**, profile. :D I'll put it up on Jamillia's soon, too. :)

* * *

**REMEMBER! I'LL TRY TO UPDATE SOON!** Soon is like, 3 days. Trust me. I will update in 3 days!

* * *

**Thanks to:** _Jennmc75_ for reviewing every chapter! And for reviewing on both my and Jamillia's profile! Thanks loads, girl! :)

**700th reviewer**: _Horsewhisperer990_! Thanks, chick! :)

* * *

**Review goal:**

**Twilight-is-Lovee:** I think it's safe to ask for **755 reviews**. Thanks lovelies. x3

**Jamillia:** um . . . **500 reviews**, please? :)


	22. Lovin'

**Perfect Strangers**

**21. Lovin'**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the place(s?) they go for their date.**

**AN: There's going to be a shower lemon in here**. I'll put a warning up when it starts and another one when it ends. :D **There will be a lot of stuff after it ends, so yeah.**

* * *

**Saturday, October 25th, 2008**

_Previously on 'Perfect Strangers':_

_Edward and Bella's first date. Bella's going to move in with Edward soon._

**BPOV**

When we got to my house, I rushed inside and packed a small suitcase. I threw in some clothes for Jase and me, our toothbrushes, and some shoes.

Then I rushed back out to the car, where Edward was patiently waiting for me, a small grin on his face.

"What are you so happy about, Mister?" I asked when I got back in the car.

"The fact that you're going to be living with me and I won't have to share you with anyone else," he said.

I froze.

"What's wrong, Bella? Did I say something bad?"

"Oh, no, it's nothing. It's just . . . Jacob always used to say to me, 'You're mine. I'm never going to share you with anyone else.' And then he'd hit me," I clarified.

"Oh, my Bella." Edward pulled me into a hug. Well, as much of a hug as was possible in a Volvo. "I will never hurt you, you know that, right?"

"Yes, Edward. I know. But it just – gah, I'm sorry. I totally ruined your mood, didn't I? I am _so_ sorry, Edward."

"Bella, Bella, shh, it's okay. My mood is not ruined. I love you, Bella, and there's no way you could make me sad."

"Are you sure you're not angry?"

"Angry? Why would I be angry?" he asked, looking confused.

"_Because_! You were so happy about Jase and I moving in with you, and then I have to go and ruin it by mentioning Jacob."

"Bella, I am _not _angry with you. Not at all, Love. Don't you see? I could never be mad at you. Only at myself."

"Yourself?! Why?!" I asked, absolutely horrified.

"Because I didn't do something about Jacob sooner. I know I could've prevented it somehow, even though I haven't known you for a month. I recall the first day I met you was October 3rd."

"Edward, there was nothing you could've done to prevent it. It was I who was stupid. _I _should've stopped it. I should've called reinforcements or something."

"That, you should've. But what's done is done, I suppose."

"Yes, now please stop blaming yourself?"

"I – I guess," he sighed.

I smiled happily.

We soon reached Edward's – er, our – new house.

When we stepped on the porch, Edward, who was holding my suitcase, put the suitcase down.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"This," he replied simply. He proceeded to pick me up and cradle me in his arms.

"What in the world?"

"Have you never heard of the threshold tradition?"

I laughed.

"Of course I have. But I thought that was for a married couple," I said.

"Oh well," he shrugged.

"What about my suitcase?"

He bent down a little bit and picked the suitcase up, as well, and then he smiled triumphantly at me.

I snorted and leaned up to peck him slightly on the lips.

He somehow unlocked and opened the door while still holding me and the suitcase in his arms.

He elegantly stepped over the threshold and whispered in my ear, "Welcome to our new home, love."

I sighed in elation.

"I like the sound of that. Our home."

"Me too, Love, me too," Edward said, sighing happily.

"So, will you carry me upstairs, Loverboy?"

"Loverboy?" he asked confusedly.

"Mhm."

He laughed.

"Sure, I'll carry you upstairs."

And that's exactly what he did. He carried me upstairs to our room and laid me on our bed.

"Bella, I'm going to take a quick shower, alright?"

I nodded. "Be back soon!" I called after him.

"I will."

I soon heard the shower start and clothes being discarded.

I lay in our bed, thinking about all the things that had brought us to this point. I had to admit, it was all happening very soon. However, I could not bring myself to regret any of it.

I loved Edward, and he loved me. That's all I really needed, and I had it. I was happy.

After a few minutes, my thoughts diverted to the shower. How I really wanted one. How Edward was currently in it.

_Carpe diem_, I thought.

I took off all my clothes and walked to the bathroom, completely nude.

Through the glass door of his shower, I could see Edward in all his glory.

I brought out all my courage and slid open the shower door. Edward gasped.

"Bella? What are you doing?"

"Coming to shower with you," I explained, a little embarrassed. I was naked in front of him, after all.

"Oh, um, er," he stuttered. "Come in."

I smiled slightly at his loss for words.

"You're beautiful," he whispered once he'd looked down at my body.

I blushed.

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself," I said with a nervous laugh.

Edward extended his arms and grabbed my waist, pulling me to him.

"So, what brought this on?" he asked.

"I wanted a shower, and you were in the shower, so I joined you," I summarized.

"Love, I want our first time together to be special."

"Umm . . . I don't think our first time showering together can be any more special."

"You know what I mean, Bella," he reprimanded.

"Yes, I do. But I guess we don't have to go all the way tonight if you don't want to . . ."

"Oh, believe me, Bella, I want to. But I want to make your first time special for you."

"Edward, just being with you makes it special."

"Are you sure, Love?"

I nodded.

"Wait – I don't have any protection," he panicked.

"Edward, it's okay. I've been on the pill since high school."

"Oh," he sighed, relieved.

"So, let's get to showerin', Loverboy," I said. Edward chuckled.

He poured some soap in his hands and washed me first, then himself. He made sure to clean every inch of my body.

Then he shampooed and conditioned our hair. There were no words to describe how good his hands felt on my scalp. It felt like he was my personal masseuse. His hands rubbing and massaging my scalp, forehead, temples. It was heaven.

**(Lemon starts here)**

Then he slowly, nervously, carefully drifted his hand downward, to my chest. He grabbed my breasts gently, grazing his thumbs over my nipples, hardening them from the effect. I shivered in pleasure.

Edward moved his hands along my sides. When he reached my bottom, he grabbed it and pulled me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist. I could feel his arousal against mine. I moaned from the feeling.

He moved his hands up and down my back, and then suddenly caught me into a kiss. We kissed and kissed and soon the water started to turn cold.

"Bed," I managed to whisper. Edward nodded and hurriedly turned off the shower and got us out. He dried our bodies and then carried me bridal style to the bed.

He laid me down and then lay down next to me.

"Have I mentioned how beautiful you are?" he asked softly.

"Once or twice," I said, trying to catch my breath.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Bella?"

"More sure than anything else."

Edward nodded.

He hovered over me and leaned down to kiss me.

Suddenly, I felt his pianist fingers on my clit.

I moaned low and long.

I reached down and grabbed his erection.

"Bella," he moaned.

I started rubbing my hand up and down his dick while he rubbed my clit in moves that should be illegal. It was just that pleasurable.

Edward bent down and took my nipple in his mouth and rubbed the other one with his free hand. His tongue moved in circles around my nipple, making me moan his name.

In no time at all, I felt my first orgasm and then my second. I was exhausted but I didn't want to stop.

"Bella, stop," he whispered, his breathing heavy. He took his hand away from my clit, and I groaned at the loss.

"Did I do something wrong?" I asked, sort of afraid of the answer.

"No, not at all. I just wanted to be in you when I came," he said.

"Oh," I sighed.

"Are you ready, Love?"

I nodded.

I felt him at my entrance. He slowly pushed down but stopped before my barrier.

He whispered in my ear, "I'm so sorry, Love."

Then, he pushed down, breaking the boundary.

It was pleasure and pain all mixed in one package. I cried out while Edward kept whispering, "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry," in my ear.

Soon, the pain faded and all that was left was pleasure. Edward and I fit together so well. Like two puzzle pieces.

I bucked my hips up against his, indicating I wanted him to start moving in me.

He slowly pulled out and then pushed back in. This time, I felt no pain.

He repeated the movement a few times.

"Faster, harder," I moaned.

He complied, pushing into me with an almost inhuman strength and speed.

Our bodies moved so in-sync. It was almost like a dance. A dance we choreographed. The only sounds being our loud, continous moans.

I felt my third orgasm soon. It was mind-blowing, earth shattering. I yelled out his name in delight.

My pleasure caused Edward to explode inside of me. He moaned my name vociferously as he came.

He fell on top of me, our breathing heavy.

**(Lemon over)**

"I love you," I whimpered.

"I love you, too, Bella. More than you know," he said softly.

He tried to move, but I stopped him.

"Stay, please," I whispered. His weight on me felt so good. I couldn't bear the thought of him leaving, even if it were only to lay down next to me.

I needed him on top of me, and I wouldn't let him go.

He nodded, too tired to do anything else.

That night, we fell asleep in each others' arms, feeling completely content.

* * *

**Halloween**

**Friday, October 31, 2008.**

**BPOV**

"Mommy! I want to go nowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!" Jason whined.

"Yeah, Daddy! Let's go!" Anna copied Jason's example.

Today was Halloween, and both the kids were dressed up in costumes.

Anna was a Princess Pirate. The costume had a burgundy velvet jacket, which had a shiny gold trim and beautiful ribbed satin cuffs. The attached white mock shirt had a ruffled collar. The attached black and white striped skirt was covered with shiny gold dots for extra sparkle and had a tattered bottom with a cotton ruffle. The matching hat had the famous pirate skull appliqué and a sewn-on burgundy velvet bandana. The shoes were simple white tennis shoes with angelic white socks. Alice's description, not mine.

Jase was Cat in the Hat. He had on the striped red and white hat and the jumpsuit with attached bowtie, tail, and white gloves. For shoes, he wore black formal shoes with black socks. _That_ was my description. Alice's would've probably gone into detail of the material and the shade of red and whatnot.

"Okay guys. Let's go," Edward said. Jason already thought of him as a father, and I was pretty sure that Anna thought of me as a mother, too.

We were taking the kids around the neighborhood to trick-or-treat.

I never liked trick-or-treating as a kid. I was always the one who sat home and handed out candy to those kids who came to our door.

Jase had never trick-or-treated before, and Edward said that neither had Anna.

But this year, Alice had had enough. She introduced our kids to the idea of dressing up in 'fun costumes and getting candy.' I was mad at her for it, but was slowly forgiving her.

Edward and I didn't dress up, even though Alice was dying to make us Jack and Jill. I was going to give into her pout, but then I remembered the outfit I'd have to wear. And there was no way I was dressing up as a little kid who climbed up the hill.

"Bella?" Edward called, shaking me out of my thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"Are you coming?"

"Oh yeah!"

I walked out hand in hand with Edward, the kids running ahead of us.

They had not so common trick-or-treat baskets. Jason's was one that looked like Cat in the Hat's hat, and Anna's was a basket which one would normally put flowers in. However, Alice was Alice. Once I denied her about Jack and Jill, she made it her goal to piss me off by going over the top with Jason and Anna's costumes.

Edward and I strolled on the streets while the kids trick-or-treated. We talked about anything and everything.

Ever since we moved in together, we'd been inseparable.

Every night, we'd make love after the kids were asleep. Jason and Anna each had their own rooms, and there were also two spare bedrooms. The new house was humongous.

To say that Edward and I were happy would be an understatement.

We had everything we wanted.

Life was good.

* * *

**AN (By Twilight-is-Lovee):** OMG! Another chapter in BPOV! Shocking, isn't it? Haha. Next chapter, we're probably gonna go back to Edward's POV. I like writing his better.

**How was my first lemon? **Jamillia was supposed to do it, but she bailed last minute, so I did it. How did I do?

* * *

Also, 'surer' is a word. Word corrected me. **You see:**

Actually, I had it as 'more sure' but then Word was like, "Oh no you don't, hunniekins. It's surer!"

And I, being just as stubborn as Word, was like, "Uh . . . Worrrddd, who you be tellin' me what it is and what it ain't?!"

And Word was like, "I be yo Word on yo awesome-ass lahptohpp. Whad now, betch?"

And I was like, "Watch yo mouth, Word!"

And Word was like, "Bitch, who you be tellin' me to watch my mouth?!"

And I was like, "Yo momma, foo!"

And Word was like, "Nu-uh, YO momma!"

And I was like, "Boyy, yo momma's so fat, when she jumped in the water, everyone ran out yelling, 'TSUNAMI!'"

And Word was like, "Ooh, fucker! YO momma so far, when I ran around her, I got lost, suckaa!"

And then we continued 'Yo-momma'-ing at each other until Edward came and told us, "You two are crazy!"

And I said to Edward, "No, no, Edward. It just seems that way. We're really straight. Well, I'm straight. Word turned gay when he met you."

Then Edward said to me, "Uh . . . Word's never met me."

And so I go, "Riiight. Word went gay when he read the Twilight Saga. And then when I write how sexy you are, he reads it, because he's Word, and . . . yeah." And then I grinned at him.

And he pulled me into a kiss, and we lived happily ever after.

**Nice, funny story, right? ;)**

* * *

**Remember! **I have an album for the pictures for Perfect Strangers! **THE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES ARE IN IT! **:D

Link thing:

photobucket**(dot)**com/perfectstrangers

The link is also up on my, **Twilight-is-Lovee**, profile. :D It's also up on Jamillia's profile!

* * *

**Thanks to:** _EVERYONE _who has reviewed every chapter. And thanks to everyone who reviews. You guys help me reach my goal every time! And soon, we might even get 1,000 reviews! I'm liking the sound of that! :D

**750th reviewer**: **Kyoko Izumi-Sama-Baka!! Thanks, chickadee! You reviewed every chapter. Whoot! You rock. (Even thought you are Team J!)**

**READ!: **Read stories by TwilightSagaLover543. I Beta for her _sometimes_. Especially read her story 'I Don't Know You, but I Think I Love You.' It's great, I promise. Want a summary? Here it is: Edward is the conceited football quarterback, while Bella is the smart, pretty girl. But the thing is - they hate each other. when the school sets up a PEN PALS website, and some interesting people get paired up, what will happen? BXE.' Sounds good, right? Well, R&R, peeps! Haha. xD

**AND I POSTED A NEW ONE-SHOT! **Some of you may already know, but yeah. It's called 'The Things We Do For Love'. R&R? Thanks, babes!

* * *

**Review goal:**

**Twilight-is-Lovee:** **800** **reviews?** That's not too much to ask for, is it?

**Jamillia:** **500 reviews**, please? :) She got **485 **last chapter, when she'd asked for **500**. Think we can make it happen this time?

* * *


	23. I'm Sorry, Love

**IF YOU CARE ABOUT PERFECT STRANGERS AT ALL, READ THIS!:**

We all hate Author's Notes, but this one IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE **FUTURE OF PERFECT STRANGERS!**

All future updates of this story will be on Twilight-is-lovee's profile.

I cannot continue working on this story any further.

I love this story dearly, but I haven't worked on it since around chapter 3. All credit goes to Twilight-is-Lovee and I would like to thank her for continuing our story even though I was barely helping.

**So, if you would like to read more of Perfect Strangers, go here:**

www**(dot)**fanfiction**(dot)**net/s/4563286/1/Perfect_Strangers

**I will keep this story up on my profile and will notify you all about the next two or three updates. After that, I will be deleting the story from my profile. It will forever remain on Twilight-is-Lovee's profile, however. So go read it there! And review! Don't forget to review!**

**She will post the next chapter on Friday!!**

**ALSO!** I am going on a little hiatus for a while. Schoolwork and social and personal life has me busy. Sorry guys. I love you, I really do, but I won't be on for a while.

**If you have any questions, message Twilight-is-Lovee. Thank you.**


	24. Story Update

**NEW CHAPTER OF PERFECT STRANGERS IS POSTED ON Twilight-is-Lovee's PROFILE!**

**If you haven't already put her, or put the story on her profile on alert, do so now.**

Because I'm not going to be posting anymore. Only she is.

**Here's a link to where Perfect Strangers will be posted:**

www**(dot)**fanfiction**(dot)**net/s/4563286/1/Perfect_Strangers

DON'T FORGET TO R&R!!!

**If you have any questions, message Twilight-is-Lovee. Thank you.**


	25. Stry update

**NEW CHAPTER OF PERFECT STRANGERS IS POSTED ON Twilight-is-Lovee's PROFILE!**

**If you haven't already put her, or put the story on her profile on alert, do so now.**

Because I'm not going to be posting anymore. Only she is. This will be my last update on the new chapters. The rest, well, if you wanna read it, you need to go to Twilight-is-Lovee's profile to do so!

**Here's a link to where Perfect Strangers will be posted:**

www**(dot)**fanfiction**(dot)**net/s/4563286/1/Perfect_Strangers

DON'T FORGET TO R&R!!!

**If you have any questions, message Twilight-is-Lovee. Thank you.**


End file.
